CNlt.  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY.  LOS  AMCELE9 


PHYLLIS   OF   PHILISTIA 


BY 

FRANK  FRANKFORT  MOORE 

AUTHOR    OF    "l    FORBID    THE    BANNS,"    ETC. 


\° 

NEW   YORK 
THE   CASSELL   PUBLISHING   CO. 

31   EAST   i7TH  ST.   (UNION  SQUARE) 


COPYRIGHT,  1895,  BY 
THE  CASSELL   PUBLISHING  CO. 


All  rights  reserved. 


THE   MERSHON    COMPANY    PRESS, 
FAHWAY,   N.   J. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     "AN  ASTRONOMER  WITHOUT  A  TELESCOPE,"         .        .        i 
II.     "HE  KNEW  THAT  IT  WAS  A   TROUBLESOME  PROCESS, 
BECOMING  A  GOOD  CLERGYMAN  ;  so  HE  DETERMINED 
TO  BECOME  A  GOOD  PREACHER  INSTEAD,"         .        .        8 

III.  "THE  BISHOP    KNEW  SOMETHING    OF  MAN,  AND   HE 

KNEW  SOMETHING  OF  THE  CHURCH  ;  HE  EVEN  KNEW 
SOMETHING  OF  THE  BIBLE," 16 

IV.  "  SHE  HAD  NO  RIGHT  TO  ACCUSE  HIM  OF  READING  THE 

BIBLE  DAILY," 25 

V.     "!N  LOVE  THERE  ARE  NO  GOOD-BYS,"          ...       32 
VI.     "  IF  A  GIRL  REALLY  LOVES  A  MAN  SHE  WILL  MARRY 

HIM,  EVEN   THOUGH    HE   SHOULD  WRITE   A   BOOK,"    .         4! 

VII.     "  THE  DEFENSE  OF  HOLLAND,"     ...  52 
VIII.     "  I  HOPE  THAT  You  WILL  NOT  EVENTUALLY  MARRY 

AN  INFIDEL," 61 

IX.     "Mv   FATHER  HAS  His   IDEAS  ON  WHAT'S    CALLED 

REALISM," 70 

X.     "  IT  is  THE  PRICE  OF  BLOOD," 87 

XI.    "I'M  AFRAID  THAT  I  MUST  HAVE  PRINCIPLE  ON  MY  SIDE,"  96 

XII.     "DYNAMITE — SLAVE-DEALING — MASSACRES — ARMENIA!"  103 

XIII.  "EVEN   THE    HOUSE    OF  COMMONS  DOESN'T    MATTER 

MUCH," no 

XIV.  "  THE  HONORABLE  MEMBER  is  CLEARLY  OUT  OF  ORDER,"     120 
XV.    "BUT  MR.  COURTLAND AH,  NEVER  MIND!"        .     130 

XVI.     "WOULD  IT  BE  WELL  WITH  MY  HUSBAND?"      .        .     135 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

XVII.     "WHAT  AM  I  THAT  I  SHOULD  Do  THIS  THING?"     .     147 
XVIII.     "  HERBERT  COURTLAND  is  A  MAN  WHO  HAS  LIVED 

WITH  HONOR," J54 

XIX.     "  THEY  HAVE  SOULS  TO  BE  SAVED,  164 

XX.     "  I  HAVE  HEARD  THE  PASSIONATE  GALLOP  OF  THOSE 

FIERY-FOOTED  STEEDS," 175 

XXI.     "  THAT  TOILET  SHOULD  NOT  HAVE  BEEN  WASTED,"     183 
XXII.     "  HE  HAD  EXPLAINED  TO  PHYLLIS  ONCE  THAT  HE 

THOUGHT  OF  GOD  ONLY  AS  A  PRINCIPLE,"  .     192 

XXIII.  "  ITS  MOUTHINGS  OF  THE  PAST  HAD  BECOME  ITS 

MUMBLINGS  OF  THE  PRESENT,"     ....     200 

XXIV.  "  SHE  WAS  A  WIFE,  AND  SHE  HAD  A  LOVER  WHO 

DISAPPOINTED  HER," 208 

XXV.     "LIES!    LIES!    LIES!" 218 

XXVI.     "Dm  HE  SAY  SOMETHING  MORE  ABOUT  RUTH?"  229 
XXVII.     "THAT'S  WHY  WOMEN  Do  NOT  MAKE  GOOD  PHIL- 
OSOPHERS,"       238 

XXVIII.     "  THE  CHURCH  Is  NOT  NEUROTIC,"         .        .        .  250 
XXIX.     "  I   KNOW  THAT   IT   DOESN'T  MATTER   MUCH   TO 
GOD  WHAT  A   MAN  THINKS  ABOUT   HIMSELF  OR 

His  SOUL," 261 

XXX.     "  THERE  is  No  ONE  I  LIKE  BETTER  THAN  PHYLLIS,"  270 

XXXI.     "You  MAY  TRUST  MR.  COURTLAND,"     .        .        .278 

XXXII.     "  LET  THEM  BOTH  Go  TOGETHER  TO  PERDITION  !  "  .  288 

XXXIII.  "  I  WONDER   IF  I   EVER   LOVED  You  UNTIL   THIS 

MOMENT," 301 

XXXIV.  "  GIVE  HIM  BACK  TO  ME— GIVE  HIM  BACK  TO  ME  !"    315 
XXXV.     "  IF  GOD^WOULD  ONLY  GIVE  ME  ANOTHER  CHANCE  ! "    324 

XXXVI.     "  MARRIAGE  is  THE  PICTURESQUE  GATEWAY  LEAD- 
ING TO  A  COMMONPLACE  ESTATE,"        .        .        .332 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

"  AN  ASTRONOMER  WITHOUT  A  TELESCOPE." 

"  AFTER  all,"  said  Mr.  Ayrton,  "  what  is  marriage  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  "  sighed  Phyllis.  She  knew  that  her  father 
had  become  possessed  of  a  phrase,  and  that  he  was 
anxious  to  flutter  it  before  her  to  see  how  it  went. 
He  was  a  connoisseur  in  the  bric-a-brac  of  phrases. 

"  Marriage  means  all  your  eggs  in  one  basket,"  said 
he. 

"  Ah  !  "  sighed  Phyllis  once  more.  She  wondered  if 
her  father  really  thought  that  she  would  be  comforted 
in  her  great  grief  by  a  phrase.  She  did  not  want  to 
know  how  marriage  might  be  denned.  She  knew  that 
all  definitions  are  indefinite.  She  knew  that  in  the 
case  of  marriage  everything  depends  upon  the  definer 
and  the  occasion. 

"  So  you  see  there  is  no  immediate  cause  to  grieve, 
my  dear,"  resumed  her  father. 

She  did  not  quite  see  that  this  was  the  logical  con- 
clusion of  the  whole  matter ;  but  that  was  possibly 
because  she  was  born  a  woman,  and  felt  that  mar- 
riage is  to  woman  what  a  keel  is  to  a  ship. 

"  I  think  there  is  veiy  good  cause  to  grieve- when  we 


2  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

find  a  man  like  George  Holland  turning  deliberately 
round  from  truth  to  falsehood,"  said  Phyllis  sternly. 

"  And  what's  worse,  running  a  very  good  chance  of 
losing  his  living,"  remarked  the  father.  "  Of  course  it 
will  have  to  be  proved  that  Moses  and  Abraham  and 
David  and  the  rest  of  them  were  not  what  he  says 
they  were ;  and  it  strikes  me  that  all  the  bench  of 
bishops,  and  a  royal  commissioner  or  two  thrown  in, 
would  have  considerable  difficulty  in  doing  that  nowa- 
days." 

"  What !  You  take  his  part,  papa  ?  "  she  cried,  start- 
ing up.  "  You  take  his  part  ?  You  think  I  was  wrong 
to  tell  him — what  I  did  tell  him  ?  " 

"  I  don't  take  his  part,  my  dear,"  said  Mr.  Ayrton. 
"  I  think  that  he's  a  bit  of  a  fool  to  run  his  head  into 
a  hornet's  nest  because  he  has  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  Abraham's  code  of  morality  was  a  trifle  shaky, 
and  that  Samson  was  a  shameless  libertine.  Great 
Heavens !  has  the  man  got  no  notion  of  the  perspec- 
tive of  history  ?  " 

"  Perspective  ?     History  ?     It's  the  Bible,  papa !  " 

Indignation  was  in  Phyllis'  eyes,  but  there  was  a  rev- 
erential tone  in  her  voice.  Her  father  looked  at  her 
— listened  to  her.  In  the  pause  he  thought : 

"Good  Heavens!  What  sort  of  a  man  is  George 
Holland,  who  is  ready  to  relinquish  the  love  and  love- 
liness of  that  girl,  simply  because  he  thinks  poorly  of 
the  patriarchs  ?  " 

"  He  attacks  the  Bible,  papa,"  resumed  Phyllis 
gravely.  "What  horrible  things  he  said  about 
Ruth!" 

"Ah,  yes,  Ruth — the    heroine  of  the    harvest    fes- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1STIA.  3 

tival,"  said  her  father.  "  Ah,  he  might  have  left  us 
our  Ruth.  Besides,  she  was  a  woman.  Heavens 
above !  is  there  no  chivalry  remaining  among 
men  ?  " 

"  Ah,  if  it  was  only  chivalry  !     But — the  Bible !  " 

"  Quite  so — the— yes,  to  be  sure.  But  don't 
you  think  you  may  take  the  Bible  too  seriously, 
Phyllis?" 

"  Oh,  papa  !  too  seriously?  " 

"Why  not?  That's  George  Holland's  mistake,  I 
fear.  Why  should  he  work  himself  to  a  fury  over  the 
peccadillos  of  the  patriarchs  ?  The  principle  of  the 
statute  of  limitations  should  be  applied  to  such 
cases.  If  the  world,  and  the  colleges  of  theology,  have 
dealt  lightly  with  Samson  and  David  and  Abraham 
and  Jacob  and  the  rest  of  them  for  some  thousands  of 
years,  why  should  George  Holland  rake  up  things 
against  them,  and  that,  too,  on  very  doubtful  evidence  ? 
But  I  should  be  the  last  person  in  the  world  to  com- 
plain of  the  course  which  he  has  seen  fit  to  adopt, 
since  it  has  left  you  with  me  a  little  longer,  my  dearest 
child.  I  did  not,  of  course,  oppose  your  engagement, 
but  I  have  often  asked  myself  what  I  should  do  without 
you  ?  How  should  I  ever  work  up  my  facts,  or,  what 
is  more  important,  my  quotations,  in  your  absence, 
Phyllis  ?  On  some  questions,  my  dear,  you  are  a  veri- 
table Blue-book — yes,  arr  edition  de  luxe  of  a  Blue*- 
book." 

"  And  I  meant  to  be  so  useful  to  him  as  well,"  said 
Phyllis,  taking  her  father's  praises  more  demurely  than 
she  had  taken  his  phrases.  "  I  meant  to  help  him  in 
his  work." 


4  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LIST1A. 

"  Ah,  what  a  fool  the  man  is  !  How  could  any  man  in 
his  senses  give  up  a  thing  of  flesh  and  blood  like  you, 
for  the  sake  of  proving,  or  trying  to  prove,  that  some 
people  who  lived  five  or  six  thousand  years  ago — if 
they  ever  lived  at  all — would  have  rendered  themselves 
liable  to  imprisonment,  without  the  option  of  a  fine,  if 
they  lived  in  England  since  the  passing  of  certain 
laws — recent  laws,  too,  we  must  remember  !  " 

"  Papa ! " 

"  Anyhow,  you  have  done  with  him,  my  dear.  A 
man  who  can't  see  that  crime  is  usually  a  question  of 
temperament,  and  sin  invariably  a  question  of  geog- 
raphy— well,  we'll  say  no  more  about  it.  At  what 
hour  did  you  say  he  was  coming  ?  " 

"  Four.     I  don't  think  I  shall  break  down." 

"  Break  down  ?  Why  on  earth  should  you  break 
down?  You  have  a  mind  to  know,  and  you  know 
your  own  mind.  That's  everything.  But  of  course 
you've  had  no  experience  of  matters  of  this  sort.  He 
was  your  first  real  lover  ?  " 

Phyllis'  face  became  crimson.  She  retained  suffi- 
cient presence  of  mind,  however,  to  make  a  little  fuss 
with  the  window-blind  before  letting  it  down.  Her 
father  stared  at  her  for  a  moment,  and  there  was 
rather  a  long  pause  before  he  laughed. 

"  I  said  '  real  lover,'  my  dear,"  he  remarked.  "  The 
real  lover  is  the  one  who  talks  definitely  about  dates 
and  the  house  agent's  commission.  As  a  rule  the  real 
lover  does  not  make  love.  True  love  is  born,  not 
not  made.  But  you — Heavens  above !  perhaps  I  did 
an  injustice  to  you — to  you  and  to  the  men.  Maybe 
you're  not  such  a  tyro  after  all,  Phyllis." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  5 

Phyllis  gave  a  very  pretty  little  laugh — such  a  laugh 
as  would  have  convinced  any  man  but  a  father — per- 
haps, indeed,  some  fathers — that  she  was  not  without 
experience.  Suddenly  she  became  grave.  Her  father 
never  loved  her  so  dearly  as  when  that  little  laugh  was 
flying  over  her  face,  leaving  its  living  footprints  at  the 
corners  of  her  eyes,  at  the  exquisite  curve  of  her 
mouth.  It  relieved  her  from  the  suspicion  of  priggish- 
ness  to  which,  now  and  again,  her  grave  moods  and 
appropriate  words  laid  her  open.  She  was  not  so 
proper,  after  all,  her  father  now  felt ;  she  was  a  girl 
with  the  experiences  of  a  girl  who  has  tempted  men 
and  seen  what  came  of  it. 

She  spoke : 

"  It  is  a  very  serious  thing,  giving  a  man  your  promise 
and  then " 

"  Then  finding  that  your  duty  to  him — to  him, 
mind — forces  you  to  tell  him  that  you  cannot  carry 
out  that  promise,"  said  her  father.  "  Yes,  it  is  a  very 
serious  thing,  but  not  so  serious  as  carrying  out  that 
promise  would  be  if  you  had  even  the  least  little  feel- 
ing that  at  the  end  of  three  months  he  was  not  a 
better  man  than  you  suspected  he  was  at  the  begin- 
ning. There's  a  bright  side  to  everything,  even  a 
honeymoon  ;  but  the  reason  that  a  honeymoon  is  so 
frequently  a  failure  is  because  the  man  is  bound  to  be 
found  out  by  his  wife  inside  the  month.  It  is  better 
that  you  found  out  now,  than  later  on,  that  you  could 
not  possibly  be  happy  with  a  man  who  spoke  slight- 
ingly of  the  patriarchs  and  their  wives.  Now  I'll  leave 
you,  with  confidence  that  you  will  be  able  to  explain 
matters  to  Mr.  Holland." 


6  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  What  !  you  won't  be  here  ?" 

Dismay  was  in  the  girl's  face  as  she  spoke.  She 
had  clearly  looked  for  the  moral  support  of  her 
father's  presence  while  she  would  be  making  her  ex- 
planation to  the  man  whom  she  had,  a  few  months 
before,  promised  to  marry,  but  whom  she  had  found  it 
necessary  to  dismiss  by  letter,  owing  to  her  want  of 
sympathy  in  some  of  his  recent  utterances. 

"  You  won't  be  here  ?  " 

"  No;  I  have  unfortunately  an  engagement  just  at 
that  hour,  Phyllis,"  replied  Mr.  Ayrton.  "  But  do  you 
really  think  there  is  any  need  for  me  to  be  here  ?  Per- 
sonally, I  fancy  that  my  presence  would  only  tend  to 
complicate  matters.  Your  own  feeling,  your  own 
woman's  instinct,  will  enable  you  to  explain — well,  all 
that  needs  explanation.  I  have  more  confidence  in 
your  capacity  to  explain  since  you  gave  that  pretty 
little  laugh  just  now.  Experience — ah,  the  experience 
of  a  girl  such  as  you  are,  suggests  an  astronomer  with- 
out a  telescope.  Still,  there  were  astronomers  before 
there  were  telescopes ;  and  so  I  leave  you,  my  beloved 
child — ah,  my  own  child  once  again  !  No  cold  hand  of 
a  lover  is  now  between  us." 

It  was  not  until  he  was  some  distance  down  Picca- 
dilly that  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  should  have 
pictured  the  lover  with  a  warm  hand  ;  and  that  omis- 
sion on  his  part  caused  him  a  greater  amount  of  irrita- 
tion than  anyone  who  was  unaware  of  his  skill  in 
phrase-making  could  have  thought  possible  to  arise 
from  a  lapse  apparently  so  trifling. 

It  was  not  until  he  had  reached  the  Acropolis  and 
had  referred,  in  the  hearing  of  the  most  eminently  dull 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  7 

of  the  many  distinguished  members  of  that  club,  to 
the  possibility  of  a  girl's  experiences  of  man  being 
likened  to  an  astronomer  without  a  telescope,  that  he 
felt  himself  again. 

The  dull  distinguished  man  had  smiled. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"  HE  KNEW  THAT  IT  WAS  A  TROUBLESOME  PROCESS, 
BECOMING  A  GOOD  CLERGYMAN,  SO  HE  DETER- 
MINED TO  BECOME  A  GOOD  PREACHER  INSTEAD." 

PHYLLIS  sat  alone  in  one  of  the  drawing  rooms, 
waiting  until  the  hour  of  four  should  arrive  and  bring 
into  her  presence  the  Rev.  George  Holland,  to  plead 
his  cause  to  her — to  plead  to  be  returned  to  her  favor. 
He  had  written  to  her  to  say  that  he  would  make  such 
an  attempt. 

She  had  looked  on  him  with  favor  for  several 
months — with  especial  favor  for  three  months,  for 
three  months  had  just  passed  since  she  had  promised 
to  marry  him,  believing  that  to  be  the  wife  of  a  clergy- 
man who,  though  still  young,  had  two  curates  to  do 
the  rough  work  for  him — clerical  charwomen,  so  to 
speak — would  make  her  the  happiest  of  womankind. 
Mr.  Holland  was  rector  of  St.  Chad's,  Battenberg 
Square,  and  he  was  thought  very  highly  of  even  by  his 
own  curates,  who  intoned  all  the  commonplace,  every- 
day prayers  in  the  liturgy  for  him,  leaving  him  to  do 
all  the  high-class  ones,  and  to  repeat  the  Command- 
ments. (A  rector  cannot  be  expected  to  do  journey- 
man's work,  as  it  were ;  and  it  is  understood  that  a 
bishop  will  only  be  asked  to  intone  three  short  prayers, 
those  from  behind  a  barrier,  too ;  an  archbishop  re- 
fuses to  do  more  than  pronounce  the  benediction.) 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  9 

The  Rev.  George  Holland  was  a  good-looking  man 
of  perhaps  a  year  or  two  over  thirty.  He  did  not  come 
of  a  very  good  family — a  fact  which  probably  ac- 
counted for  his  cleverness  at  Oxford  and  in  the  world. 
He  was  a  Fellow  of  his  college,  though  he  had  not 
been  appointed  rector  of  St.  Chad's  for  this  reason. 
The  appointment,  as  is  well  known  (in  the  Church,  at 
any  rate),  is  the  gift  of  the  Earl  of  Earlscourt,  and  it 
so  happened  that,  when  at  college  together,  George 
Holland  had  saved  the  young  man  who  a  year  or 
two  afterward  became  Earl  of  Earlscourt  from  a 
very  great  misfortune.  The  facts  of  the  case  were 
these :  Tommy  Trebovoir,  as  he  was  then,  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  marry  a  lady  whose  piquant 
style  of  beauty  made  the  tobacconist's  shop  where 
she  served  the  most  popular  in  town.  By  the  exer- 
cise of  a  great  deal  of  diplomacy  and  the  expenditure 
of  a  little  money,  Mr.  Holland  brought  about  a  match 
between  her  and  quite  another  man — a  man  who  was 
not  even  on  a  subsidiary  path  to  a  peerage,  and  whose 
only  connection  with  the  university  was  due  to  his 
hiring  out  horses  to  those  whom  he  called  the  "  young 
gents."  Tommy  was  so  indignant  with  his  friend  for 
the  part  he  had  played  in  this  transaction  he  ceased  to 
speak  to  him,  and  went  the  length  of  openly  insulting 
him.  Six  years  afterward,  when  he  had  become  Earl 
of  Earlscourt,  and  had  espoused  the  daughter  of  a 
duke, — a  lady  who  was  greatly  interested  in  the 
advance  of  temperance, — he  had  presented  George 
Holland  with  the  living  at  St.  Chad's. 

People  then  said  that  Lord  Earlscourt  was  a  lesser 
fool  than  some  of  his  acts  suggested.  Others  said 


10  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

that  the  Rev.  George  Holland  had  never  been  a  fool, 
though  he  had  been  a  Fellow  of  his  college. 

They  were  right.  George  Holland  knew  that  it  was 
a  troublesome  process  becoming  a  good  clergyman,  so 
he  determined  to  become  a  good  preacher  instead. 
In  the  course  of  a  year  he  had  become  probably  the 
best-known  preacher  (legitimate,  not  Dissenting)  in 
London,  and  that,  too,  without  annoying  the  church- 
wardens of  St.  Chad's  by  drawing  crowds  of  undesir- 
able listeners  to  crush  their  way  into  the  proprietary 
sittings,  and  to  join  in  the  singing  and  responses,  and 
to  do  other  undesirable  acts.  No,  he  only  drew  to  the 
church  the  friends  of  the  said  holders,  whose  contri- 
butions to  the  offertory  were  exemplary. 

His  popularity  within  a  certain  circle  was  great ;  but, 
as  Lord  Earlscourt  was  heard  to  say,  "  He  never 
played  to  the  pit." 

He  was  invited  to  speak  to  a  resolution  at  a  Mansion 
House  meeting  to  express  indignation  at  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  opium  traffic  in  China. 

He  was  also  invited  by  the  Countess  of  Earlscourt 
to  appear  on  the  platform  to  meet  the  deputation  of 
Chinese  who  represented  the  city  meeting  held  at 
Pekin  in  favor  of  local  option  in  England  ;  for  the 
great  national  voice  of  China  had  pronounced  in  favor 
of  local  option  in  England. 

Shortly  afterward  he  met  Phyllis  Ayrton,  and  had 
asked  her  to  marry  him,  and  she  had  consented. 

And  now  Phyllis  was  awaiting  his  coming  to  her,  in 
order  that  he  might  learn  from  her  own  lips  what  he  had 
already  learned  from  the  letter  which  he  had  received 
from  her  the  day  before  ;  namely,  that  she  found  it 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  II 

necessary  for  her  own  peace  of  mind  to  break  off  her 
engagement  with  him. 

Phyllis  Ayrton  had  felt  for  some  months  that  it 
would  be  a  great  privilege  for  any  woman  to  become 
the  wife  of  a  clergyman.  Like  many  other  girls  who 
have  a  good  deal  of  time  for  thought, — thought  about 
themselves,  their  surroundings,  and  the  world  in  gen- 
eral,— she  had  certain  yearnings  after  a  career.  But 
she  had  lived  all  her  life  in  Philistia,  and  considered  it 
to  be  very  well  adapted  as  a  place  of  abode  for  a  proper- 
minded  young  woman  ;  in  fact,  she  could  not  imagine 
any  proper-minded  young  woman  living  under  any 
other  form  of  government  than  that  which  found 
acceptance  in  Philistia.  She  had  no  yearning  to 
startle  her  neighbors.  With  a  large  number  of  young 
women,  the  idea  that  startling  one's  neighbors  is  a 
career  by  itself  seems  to  prevail  just  at  present ;  but 
Phyllis  had  no  taste  in  this  direction.  Writing  a  book 
and  riding  a  bicycle  were  alike  outside  her  calculations 
of  a  scheme  of  life.  Hospital  nursing  was  nothing 
that  she  would  shrink  from  ;  at  the  same  time,  it  did 
not  attract  her ;  she  felt  that  she  could  dress  quite  as 
becomingly  as  a  hospital  nurse  in  another  way. 

She  wondered,  if  it  should  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  heads  of  the  government  of  Philistia  that  she 
had  a  yearning  to  become  the  wife  of  a  clergyman, 
would  they  regard  her  as  worthy  to  be  conducted 
across  the  frontier,  and  doomed  to  perpetual  expatria- 
tion. When  she  began  to  think  out  this  point,  she 
could  not  but  feel  that  if  she  were  deserving  of  pun- 
ishment,— she  looked  on  expulsion  from  Philistia  as 
the  severest  punishment  that  could  be  dealt  out  to 


12  PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1STIA. 

her,  for  she  was  extremely  patriotic, — there  were  a 
good  many  other  young  women,  and  women  who 
were  no  longer  young,  who  were  equally  culpable.  She 
had  watched  the  faces  of  quite  a  number  of  the 
women  who  crowded  St.  Chad's  at  every  service,  and 
she  had  long  ago  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
desire  to  become  the  wife  of  a  clergyrnan  was  an  aspi- 
ration which  was  universally  distributed  among  the 
unmarried  women  of  the  congregation. 

She  knew  so  much,  but  she  was  not  clever  enough 
to  know  that  it  was  her  observance  of  this  fact  that 
confirmed  her  in  her  belief  that  it  would  be  a  blessed 
privilege  for  such  a  woman  as  she  was  to  become  the 
wife  of  such  a  clergyman  as  George  Holland.  She 
was  not  wise  enough  to  be  able  to  perceive  that  a 
woman  marries  a  man  not  so  much  because  she  thinks 
highly  of  marriage — although  she  does  think  highly 
of  it ;  not  so  much  because  she  thinks  highly  of  the 
man — though  she  may  think  highly  of  him,  but  sim- 
ply because  she  sees  that  other  women  want  to 
marry  him. 

In  three  months  she  considered  herself  blessed 
among  women.  She  was  the  one  chosen  out  of  all 
the  flock.  She  did  not  look  around  her  in  church  in 
pride  of  conquest ;  but  she  looked  demurely  down  to 
her  sacred  books,  feeling  that  all  the  other  women 
were  gazing  at  her  in  envy;  and  she  felt  that  there 
was  no  pride  in  the  thought  that  the  humility  of  her 
attitude — downcast  eyes,  with  long  lashes  shading 
half  her  cheeks,  meekly  folded  hands — was  the  right 
one  to  adopt  under  the  circumstances. 

And  then  she  saw  several  of  the  young  women  who 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  13 

had  been  wearing  sober  shades  of  dress  for  some  years, 
— though  in  their  hearts  (and  she  knew  it)  they  were 
passionately  attached  to  colors, — appearing  like  pop- 
pies once  more,  and  looking  very  much  the  better  for 
the  change,  too ;  and  she  felt  that  it  was  truly  sad  for 
young  women  to — well,  to  show  their  hands,  so  to 
speak.  They  might  have  waited  for  some  weeks 
before  returning  to  the  colors  of  the  secular. 

She  did  not  know  that  they  felt  that  they  had 
wasted  too  much  time  in  sober  shades  already.  The 
days  are  precious  in  a  world  in  which  no  really  trust- 
worthy hair  dye  may  be  bought  for  money. 

And  then  there  came  to  her  a  month  of  coldly  in- 
quisitive doubt.  (This  was  when  people  had  ceased 
to  congratulate  her  and  to  talk,  the  nice  ones,  of  the 
great  cleverness  of  George  Holland  ;  the  nasty  ones, 
of  the  great  pity  that  so  delightful  a  man  did  not  come 
of  a  better  family.) 

Why  should  she  begin  to  ask  herself  if  she  really 
loved  George  Holland  ;  if  the  feeling  she  had  for  him 
should  be  called  by  the  name  of  love,  or  by  some  other 
name  that  did  not  mean  just  the  same  thing?  Of 
course  she  had  thought  a  good  deal — though  her  father 
did  not  know  it — of  love.  She  had  seen  upon  other 
people  the  effect  of  the  possession  of  this  gift  of  love, 
how  it  had  caused  them  to  forget  pain  and  poverty, 
and  shame,  and  infamy,  and  God,  and  death,  and  hell. 
Ah  !  that  was  love — that  was  love  !  and  she  had  hoped 
that  one  day  such  a  gift  of  love  would  be  given  to 
her;  for  it  was  surely  the  thing  that  was  best  worth 
having  in  the  world  !  Once  or  twice  she  had  fancied 
that  it  was  at  the  point  of  being  given  to  her.  There 


14  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

had  been  certain  thrilling  passages  between  herself  and 
two  men, — an  interval  of  a  year  between  each, — and 
there  had  also  been  a  kiss  in  an  alcove  designed  by 
her  dearest  friend,  Ella  Linton,  for  the  undoing  of 
mankind,  a  place  of  softened  lights  and  shadowy 
palms.  It  was  her  recollection  of  these  incidents  that 
had  caused  her  to  fumble  with  the  blind  cord  when  her 
father  had  been  suggesting  to  her  the  disadvantages 
of  inexperience  in  matters  of  the  heart.  But  the  inci- 
dents had  led  to  nothing,  except,  perhaps,  a  week  or 
two  of  remorse.  But  she  could  not  help  feeling,  when 
that  month  of  curious  doubt  was  upon  her,  that  the 
little  thrill  which  she  had  felt  when  one  man  had  put 
his  arm  around  her  for  an  instant,  when  another 
man — he  was  very  young — had  put  his  lips  upon  her 
mouth — it  was  a  straightforward  kiss — suggested  a 
nearer  approach  to  love  than  she  had  yet  been  con- 
scious of  in  the  presence  of  George  Holland.  (He  had 
never  done  more  than  kiss  her  hand.  Is  it  on  record 
that  any  man  did  more  when  dressed  with  the  severity 
of  the  cleric  ?) 

This  was  a  terrible  impression  for  a  young  woman 
to  retain  before  her  engagement  to  a  man  has  passed 
into  its  third  month.  Then  she  began  to  wonder  if  all 
her  previous  ideas — all  her  previous  aspirations — were 
mistaken.  She  began  to  wonder  if  this  was  the  reality 
of  love — this  conviction  that  there  was  nothing  in  the 
whole  world  that  she  would  welcome  with  more  en- 
thusiasm than  an  announcement  on  the  part  of  her 
father  that  he  was  going  on  a  voyage  to  Australia, 
and  that  he  meant  to  take  her  with  him. 

And  then 


PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA.  15 

Well,  then  she  threw  herself  upon  her  bed  and  wept 
for  an  hour  one  evening,  and  for  two  hours  (at  inter- 
vals) another  evening;  and  then  looked  up  the  old 
published  speeches  made  by  a  certain  cabinet  minister 
in  his  irresponsible  days,  on  a  question  which  he  had 
recently  introduced.  Her  father  was  bitterly  opposed 
to  the  most  recent  views  of  the  minister,  and  was  par- 
ticularly anxious  to  confront  him  with  his  own  phrases 
of  thirty  years  back.  She  spent  four  hours  copying 
out  the  words  which  were  now  meant  by  Mr.  Ayrton 
to  confound  the  utterer. 


CHAPTER  III. 

"THE  BISHOP  KNEW  SOMETHING  OF  MAN,  AND  HE 
KNEW  SOMETHING  OF  THE  CHURCH  ;  HE  EVEN 
KNEW  SOMETHING  OF  THE  BIBLE." 

HER  father  when  he  came  in  commended  her  dili- 
gence. He  read  over  those  damning  extracts,  punc- 
tuating them  with  chuckles  ;  he  would  make  an  ex- 
ample of  that  minister  who  had  found  it  convenient  to 
adopt  a  course  diametrically  opposed  to  the  principle 
involved  in  his  early  speeches.  He  chuckled,  reading 
the  extracts  while  he  paced  the  room,  drawing  upon 
his  stock  of  telling  phrases,  which  were  calculated  to 
turn  the  derision  of  the  whole  House  of  Commons 
upon  his  opponent. 

Thus,  being  very  well  satisfied  with  himself,  he  was 
satisfied  with  her,  and  kissed  her,  with  a  sigh. 

"  What  a  treasure  you  are  to  me,  dearest  one !  "  he 
said.  There  was  a  pause  before  he  added,  in  a  con- 
templative tone : 

"  I  suppose  a  clergyman  has  no  need  ever  to  hunt 
up  the  past  deliverances  of  another  clergyman  in  order 
to  confound  him  out  of  his  own  month.  Ah,  no  ;  I 
should  fancy  not." 

Regret  was  in  his  voice.  He  seemed  to  suggest  to 
her  that  he  believed  her  powers  would  be  wasted  as 
the  wife  of  a  man  who,  of  course,  being  a  clergyman, 
could  have  no  enemies. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  .         17 

"  Dearest  papa  !  "  she  cried,  throwing  herself  into 
his  arms,  and  sobbing  on  his  shirt  front,  "  dearest 
papa,  I  will  not  leave  you.  I  don't  want  to  be  any- 
one's wife.  I  want  to  be  your  daughter — only  to  be 
your  daughter." 

He  comforted  her  with  kisses  and  soothing  smooth- 
ings  of  the  hair.  No,  no,  he  said ;  he  would  not  be 
selfish.  He  would  remember  that  a  father  was  the 
trustee  of  his  child's  happiness. 

"  But  I  know  I  can  only  be  happy  with  you,  my 
father  !  "  she  cried  ;  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  He,  being 
a  father  and  not  a  mother,  was  unable  to  perceive  what 
was  in  the  girl's  heart.  He  considered  it  quite  natural 
that  she  should  be  a  trifle  hysterical  in  anticipating 
her  new  life — that  strange  untraveled  country !  Ah, 
is  there  anything  more  pathetic,  he  thought,  than  a 
girl's  anticipations  of  wifehood  ?  But  he  would  do 
his  duty,  and  he  fancied  that  he  was  doing  his  duty 
when  he  put  aside  her  earnest,  almost  passionate, 
protestations,  and  told  her  how  happy  she  would  be 
with  the  man  who  was  lucky  enough  to  have  won  the 
pure  treasure  of  her  love. 

What  could  she  do  ?  The  terrible  doubts  of  that 
month  of  doubting  broadened  into  certainties.  She 
knew  that  she  did  not  love  George  Holland;  but  she 
had  not  the  courage  to  face  Philistia  as  the  girl  who 
did  not  know  her  own  mind.  Philistia  was  very  solid 
on  such  points  as  the  sacredness  of  an  engagement 
between  a  man  and  a  woman.  It  was  a  contract  prac- 
tically as  abiding  as  marriage,  in  the  eyes  of  Philistia  ; 
and,  indeed,  Phyllis  herself  had  held  this  belief,  and 
had  never  hesitated  to  express  it.  So  nothing  was 


1 8  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA. 

left  to  her  but  to  marry  George  Holland.  After  all, 
he  was  a  brilliant  and  distinguished  man,  and  had  not 
a  score  of  other  girls  wanted  to  marry  him  ?  Oh,  she 
would  marry  him  and  give  up  her  life  to  the  splendid 
duties  which  devolve  upon  the  wife  of  a  clergyman. 

But  just  as  she  had  made  up  her  mind  to  face  her 
fate,  Mr.  Holland's  fate  induced  him  to  publish  the 
book  at  which  he  had  been  working  for  some  time. 
It  came  out  just  when  the  girl  was  becoming  resigned 
to  her  future  by  his  side,  and  it  attracted  even  more 
attention  than  the  author  had  hoped  it  would  achieve. 

The  book  was  entitled  "  Revised  Versions,"  and  it 
was  strikingly  modern  in  design  and  in  tone.  It  pur- 
ported to  'deal  with  several  personages  and  numerous 
episodes  of  the  Old  Testament,  not  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  comparative  philologist ;  not  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  comparative  mythologist,  but  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  modern  man  of  common  sense 
and  average  power  of  discrimination ;  and  the  result 
was  that  the  breath  of  a  good  many  people,  espe- 
cially clergymen,  was  taken  from  them,  and  that  the 
Rev.  George  Holland  became  the  best-known  clergy- 
man in  England. 

He  dealt  with  the  patriarchs  in  succession,  and  they 
fared  very  badly  at  his  hands.  He  showed  that 
Abraham  had  not  one  good  act  recorded  to  his  credit, 
and  contrasted  his  duplicity  with  the  magnanimity  of 
the  ruler  of  Egypt  whom  he  visited.  He  dwelt  upon 
the  Hagar  episode,  showing  that  the  adulterer  was  also 
a  murderer  by  intention,  and  so  forth  ;  while  no  words 
could  be  too  strong  to  apply  to  Sara,  his  wife.  Isaac 
did  not  call  for  elaborate  notice.  He  could  not  be 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  19 

accused  of  any  actual  crime,  but  if  he  was  a  man  of 
strong  personality,  he  was  singularly  unfortunate  in 
having  failed  to  impart  to  his  wife  any  of  that  integ- 
rity which  he  may  have  practiced  through  life.  Her 
methods  of  dealing  with  him  after  they  had  lived 
together  for  a  good  many  years  were  criminal,  con- 
sidering the  largeness  of  the  issue  at  stake  as  the  result 
of  his  blessing.  As  for  Jacob,  not  a  single  praiseworthy 
act  of  his  long  life  was  available  to  his  biographer. 
His  career  was  that  of  the  most  sordid  of  hucksters. 
Of  eleven  of  his  sons  nothing  good  is  told,  but  Joseph 
was  undoubtedly  an  able  and  exemplary  man ;  the 
only  thing  to  his  discredit  being  his  utter  callousness 
regarding  the  fate  of  his  father,  after  he  had  attained 
to  a  high  position  in  Egypt. 

The  chapter  on  the  patriarchs  was  followed  by  one 
that  dealt  with  the  incidents  of  the  Exodus.  The 
writer  said  he  feared  that  even  the  most  indulgent 
critic  must  allow  that  the  whole  scheme  of  Moses  was 
a  shocking  one ;  but  he  was  probably  the  greatest 
man  that  ever  lived  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  if  he  was 
the  leader  and  organizer  of  a  band  of  depredators  who 
for  bloodthirst  and  rapacity  had  no  parallel  in  history. 
How  could  it  be  expected  that  a  kingdom  founded 
upon  the  massacre  of  men  and  cemented  by  the  blood 
of  women  and  children  should  survive?  It  had  sur- 
vived only  as  example  to  the  world  of  the  impossibility 
of  a  permanent  success  being  founded  upon  the  atro- 
cious methods  pursued  by  the  worst  of  the  robber 
states  of  the  East.  While  civilization  had  been  spread- 
ing on  all  sides  of  them,  the  people  of  Israel  had 
remained  the  worst  of  barbarians,  murdering  the  men 


20  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA. 

who  had  from  time  to  time  arisen  to  try  and  rescue 
them  from  the  abysses  of  criminality  into  which  they 
had  fallen, — abysses  of  criminality  and  superstition,— 
until  they  had  filled  their  cup  of  crime  by  the  murder 
of  the  One  whom  the  world  worships  to-day. 

Incidentally,  of  course,  the  character  of  Samson 
was  dealt  with.  Delilah  was  shown  to  be  one  of  the 
most  heroic  of  womankind,  making  greater  sacrifices 
through  her  splendid  patriotism  that  Joan  of  Arc. 
But  Samson 

Ruth  was  also  dealt  with  incidentally.  She  was  the 
woman  who  expressed  her  willingness  to  give  up  her 
God  at  the  bidding  of  another  woman,  and  who  had 
entered  into  a  plot  with  that  same  woman  to  entrap  a 
man  whom  they  looked  to  support  them. 

Then  there  was  David.  It  was  not  the  Bath-sheba 
episode,  but  the  Abishag,  that  the  author  treated  at 
length — one  of  the  most  revolting  transactions  in 
history,  especially  as  there  is  some  reason  to  believe 
that  the  unfortunate  girl  was,  when  it  was  perpetrated, 
already  attached  to  one  of  the  sons  of  the  loathsome, 
senile  sensualist. 

Perhaps,  on  the  whole,  it  was  not  surprising  that 
after  the  publication  of  this  book  the  Rev.  George 
Holland  became  the  best-known  clergyman  in  Eng- 
land, or  that  the  breath  of  bishops  should  be  taken 
from  them.  So  soon  as  some  of  them  recovered  from 
the  first  brunt  of  the  shock,  they  met  together  and 
held  up  their  hands,  saying  that  they  awaited  the  tak- 
ing of  immediate  action  by  the  prelate  within  whose 
see  St.  Chad's  was  situated.  But  that  particular  prel- 
ate was  a  man  who  had  never  been  known  to  err  on 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  21 

the  side  of  rapidity  of  action.  Nearly  a  week  had 
passed  before  he  made  any  move  in  the  matter,  and 
then  the  move  he  made  was  in  the  direction  of  the 
Engadine.  He  crossed  the  Channel  with  the  book 
under  his  arm.  He  determined  to  read  it  at  his 
leisure.  Being  a  clergyman,  he  could  not,  of  course,  be 
expected  to  have  examined,  from  any  standpoint  but 
that  of  the  clergyman,  the  characters  of  the  persons 
dealt  with  in  the  book,  and  he  was  naturally  shocked 
at  the  freedom  shown  by  the  rector  of  St.  Chad's  in 
criticising  men  whose  names  have  been  held  in  the 
highest  esteem  for  some  thousands  of  years.  He  at 
once  perceived  that  the  rector  of  St.  Chad's  had  been 
very  narrow-minded  in  his  views  regarding  the  conduct 
of  the  men  whom  he  had  attacked.  It  occurred  to 
him,  as  it  had  to  Mr.  Ayrton,  that  the  writer  had 
drawn  his  pictures  without  any  regard  for  perspective. 
That  was  very  foolish  on  the  part  of  a  man  who  was  a 
Fellow  of  his  college,  the  bishop  thought ;  and  besides, 
there  was  no  need  for  the  book — its  tendency  was  not 
to  help  the  weaker  brethren.  But  to  assume  that  the 
book  would,  as  some  newspaper  articles  said  it  would, 
furnish  the  most  powerful  argument  that  had  yet  been 
brought  forward  in  favor  of  the  Disestablishment  of 
Church,  was,  he  thought,  to  assume  a  great  deal  too 
much.  The  Church  that  had  survived  Wesley,  White- 
field,  Colenso,  Darwin,  and  Renan  would  not  succumb 
to  George  Holland.  The  bishop  recollected  how  the 
Church  had  bitterly  opposed  all  the  teaching  of  the 
men  of  wisdom  whose  names  came  back  to  him ;  and 
how  it  had  ended  by  making  their  teaching  its  own. 
Would  anyone  venture  to  assert  that  the  progress  of 


22  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Christianity  was  dependent  upon  what  people  thought 
of  the  acceptance  by  David  of  the  therapeutic  course 
prescribed  for  him  ?  Was  the  morality  which  the 
Church  preached  likely  to  be  jeopardized  because  Ruth 
was  a  tricky  young  woman  ? 

The  bishop  knew  something  of  man,  and  he  knew 
something  of  the  Church,  he  even  knew  something  of 
the  Bible;  and  when  he  came  to  the  chapter  in  "  Re- 
vised Versions  "  that  dealt  with  the  episode  of  Ruth 
and  Boaz,  he  flung  the  book  into  a  corner  of  his  bed- 
room, exclaiming,  "  Puppy ! " 

And  then  there  came  before  his  eyes  a  vision  of  a 
field  of  yellow  corn,  ripe  for  the  harvest.  The  golden 
sunlight  gleamed  upon  the  golden  grain  through  which 
the  half-naked,  brown-skinned  men  walked  with  their 
sickles.  The  half-naked  brown-skinned  women  followed 
the  binders,  gleaning  the  ears,  and  among  the  women 
was  the  one  who  had  said,  "  Entreat  me  not  to  leave 
thee."  He  had  read  that  old  pastoral  when  he  was  a 
child  at  the  knee  of  his  mother.  It  was  surely  the 
loveliest  pastoral  of  the  East,  and  its  charm  would  be  in 
no  wise  impaired  because  a  man  who  failed  to  appre- 
ciate the  beauty  of  its  simplicity,  had  almost  called 
Ruth  by  the  worst  name  that  can  be  applied  to  a 
woman. 

The  bishop  did  not  mind  what  George  Holland 
called  Abraham,  or  Isaac,  or  Jacob,  or  Samson,  but 
Ruth— to  say  that  Ruth— 

The  bishop  said  "  Puppy !  "  once  again.  (He  had 
trained  himself  only  to  think  the  adjectives  which  lay- 
men find  appropriate  to  use  in  such  a  case  as  was 
under  his  consideration.) 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1L1ST1A.  23 

But  he  made  up  his  mind  to  take  no  action  whatever 
against  the  Rev.  George  Holland  on  account  of  the 
book.  If  the  Rev.  George  Holland  fancied  that  he  was 
to  be  persecuted  into  popularity,  the  Rev.  George 
Holland  was  greatly  mistaken,  and  the  bishop  had  a 
shrewd  idea  that  the  rector  of  St.  Chad's  was  greatly 
mistaken. 

(It  may  be  mentioned  that  he  came  to  this  deter- 
mination when  he  had  read  the  book  through,  and 
found  it  was  so  cleverly  written  that  it  included  no 
heretical  phrase  in  all  its  pages.) 

But  so  soon  as  Phyllis  Ayrton  had  read  the  first  re- 
view of  the  book  that  fell  into  her  hands,  she  felt  inex- 
pressibly shocked.  Great  Heavens !  Was  it  possible 
that  she  was  actually  at  that  moment  engaged  to 
marry  the  man  who  had  written  such  a  book — a  book 
that  held  up  Delilah  to  admiration,  and  that  abased 
Ruth?  (It  was  singular  how  everyone  settled  upon 
Ruth  in  this  connection.) 

She  did  not  pause  to  analyze  her  feelings — to  try 
and  find  out  if  she  was  really  so  fond  of  Ruth  as  to 
make  Ruth's  insult  her  own ;  but  without  a  moment's 
delay,  without  a  word  of  consultation  with  her  father, 
she  sat  down  at  her  desk  and  wrote  a  letter  to  George 
Holland,  asking  him  to  release  her  from  her  promise  to 
marry  him  ;  and  adding  that  if  he  should  decline  to  do 
so  it  would  make  no  difference  to  her ;  she  would  con- 
sider the  engagement  between  them  at  an  end  all  the 
same. 

She  felt,  when  that  letter  was  posted,  as  if  a  great 
weight  were  lifted  from  her  mind — from  her  heart. 
Then  a  copy  of  "  Revised  Versions  "  arrived  for  her 


24  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

from  the  author,  and  with  the  ink  still  wet  upon  the 
pen  with  which  she  had  written  that  letter  to  him,  she 
caught  up  the  book  and  covered  it  with  kisses. 

Had  he  seen  that  action  her  lover  would  have  been 
thoroughly  satisfied.  A  young  woman  must  be  very 
deeply  in  love  with  a  man  when  she  kisses  the  cover 
of  a  book  which  he  has  just  published.  That  is  what 
George  Holland  would  have  thought,  having  but  a 
superficial  acquaintance  with  the  motives  that  sway 
young  women. 

Later  in  the  day  he  had  replied  to  her  letter,  and  had 
appointed  four  o'clock  on  the  following  afternoon  as 
the  hour  when  he  trusted  she  would  find  it  convenient 
to  see  him,  in  order  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of 
making  an  explanation  which  he  trusted  would  enable 
her  to  see  that  "  Revised  Versions,"  so  far  from  being 
the  dreadful  book  she  seemed  to  imagine  it  to  be,  was. 
in  reality  written  with  a  high  purpose. 

She  had  not  shrunk  from  an  interview  with  him. 
She  had  sent  him  a  line  to  let  him  know  that  she 
would  be  at  home  at  four  o'clock ;  and  now  she  sat 
in  her  drawing  room  and  observed,  without  emotion, 
that  in  five  minutes  that  hour  would  strike. 

The  clock  struck,  and  before  the  last  tone  had  died 
away,  the  footman  announced  the  Rev.  George 
Holland. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"  SHE   HAD   NO   RIGHT    TO  ACCUSE   HIM   OF   READING 
THE   BIBLE   DAILY." 

PHYLLIS  shook  hands  with  her  visitor.  He  sought 
to  retain  her  hand,  as  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
doing,  as  he  stood  beside  her  with  something  of  a 
proprietary  air.  He  relinquished  her  hand  with  a  lit- 
tle look  of  surprise — a  sort  of  pained  surprise.  She 
was  inexorable.  She  would  not  even  allow  him  to 
maintain  his  proprietary  air. 

"  Do  sit  down,  Mr.  Holland,"  she  said. 

"  What !  '  Mr.  Holland  '  already  ?     Oh,  Phyllis  !  " 

He  had  a  good  voice,  full  of  expression — some- 
thing beyond  mere  musical  expression.  People  (they 
were  mostly  women)  said  that  his  voice  had  soul  in  it, 
whatever  they  meant  by  that. 

She  made  no  reply.  What  reply  could  she  make  ? 
She  only  waited  for  him  to  sit  down. 

"  Your  letter  came  as  a  great  shock  to  me,  Phyllis," 
said  he,  when  he  had  seated  himself,  not  too  close  to 
her.  He  did  not  wish  her  to  fancy  that  he  was  desir- 
ous of  having  the  subtle  influence  of  propinquity  as 
an  ally.  "  A  great  shock  to  me." 

"  A  shock  ?  "  said  she.  "  A  shock,  after  you  had 
written  that  book?" 

"  I  fancied  you  would  understand  it,  Phyllis — you, 
at  least.  Of  course  I  expected  to  be  misrepresented  by 


26  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

the  world — the  critics — the  clerics — what  you  will — 

but  you You  had  not  read   it  when  you  wrote 

that  letter  to  me — that  terrible  letter.     You  could  not 
have  read  it." 

"  I  had  only  read  one  notice  of  it — that  was 
enough." 

"  And  you  could  write  that  letter  to  me  solely  on 
the  evidence  of  one  wretched  print  ?  Oh,  Phyllis  !  " 

Pain  was  in  his  voice.  It  may  have  been  in  his  face 
as  well,  but  she  did  not  see  it ;  his  face  was  averted 
from  her. 

"  Yes,"  she  said  quietly  ;  "  I  wrote  that  letter,  Mr. 
Holland.  You  see,  the  paper  gave  large  extracts 
from  the  book.  I  did  not  come  to  my  conclusion 
from  what  the  newspaper  article  said,  but  from  what 
you  had  said  in  your  book — from  the  quoted  pas- 
sages." 

"  They  did  not  do  me  justice.  I  did  not  look  for 
justice  at  their  hands.  But  you,  Phyllis " 

"  I  have  read  your  book  now,  Mr.  Holland — 
.      "  Ah,  let   me    plead   with   you,    Phyllis — not   '  Mr. 
Holland,'  I  entreat  of  you." 

"  And  my  first  thought  on  reading  it  was  that  I 
had  not  written  to  you  so  strongly  as  I  should  have 
done." 

"  My  dear  Phyllis,  do  not  say  that,  I  beg  of  you. 
You  cannot  know  how  you  pain  me." 

"  I  am  sorry  that  I  pain  you." 

"  To  be  misunderstood  by  you — you," 

She  got  upon  her  feet  so  quickly  that  it  might 
almost  be  said  she  sprang  up. 

"You   must   have   misunderstood   me    greatly,   Mr. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  27 

Holland,  if  you  fancied  that  you  could  write  such  a 
book  as  you  wrote  and  not  get  such  a  letter  from 
me.  The  Bible — Ruth — and  you  a  clergyman — read- 
ing it  daily  in  the  church Oh  !  I  cannot  tell  you 

all  that  I  thought— all  that  I  still  think." 

He  did  not  correct  the  mistake  she  had  made. 
She  had  no  right  to  accuse  him  of  reading  the  Bible 
daily  in  his  church.  He  was  not  in  the  habit  of  doing 
that — it  was  his  curates  who  did  it.  He  watched 
her  as  she  stood  at  a  window  with  her  back  turned 
to  him.  Her  hands  were  behind  her.  Her  breath 
came  audibly,  for  she  had  spoken  excitedly. 

Then  he  also  rose  and  came  beside  her. 

"  I  wrote  that  book,  as  I  believed  you  would  per- 
ceive when  you  had  read  it,  in  order  to  remove  from 
the  minds  of  the  people — those  people  who  have  not 
given  the  matter  a  thought — the  impression — I  know 
it  prevails — that  our  faith — the  truth  of  our  religion — 
is  dependent  upon  the  acceptance  as  good  of  such 
persons  as  our  very  religion  itself  enables  us  to  pro- 
nounce evil.  My  aim  was  to  show  that  our  faith  is 
not  built  upon  such  a  foundation  of  impurity — of 
imperfection.  The  spirit  which  prevails  nowadays — 
the  modern  spirit — it  is  the  result  of  the  development 
of  science.  This  scientific  spirit  necessitates  the  con- 
sideration of  all  the  elements  of  our  faith  from  the 
standpoint  of  reason." 

"  Faith — reason  ?  " 

"  If  the  Church  is  to  appeal  to  all  men,  its  method 
must  be  scientific.  It  is  sad  to  think  of  all  that  the 
Church  has  lost  in  the  past  through  the  want  of  wis- 
dom of  those  who  had  its  best  interests  at  heart,  and 


2#  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

believed  they  were  doing  it  good  service  by  opposing 
scientific  research.  They  fancied  that  the  faith  would 
not  survive  the  light  of  truth.  They  professed  to 
believe  that  the  faith  was  strong  enough  to  work 
miracles — to  change  the  heart  of  man,  and  yet  that  it 
would  be  jeopardized  by  the  calculations  of  astrono- 
mers. The  astronomers  were  prohibited  from  calcu- 
lating ;  the  geologists  were  forbidden  to  unearth  the 
mysteries  of  their  science,  lest  the  discovery  of  the 
truth  should  be  detrimental  to  the  faith.  They  be- 
lieved that  the  truth  was  opposed  to  the  faith.  Warn- 
ing after  warning  the  Church  received  that  the  two  were 
one  ;  that  man  would  only  accept  the  truth,  whether 
it  came  from  the  lips  of  the  churchman  or  from  the 
investigations  of  science.  Grudgingly  the  Church  be- 
came tolerant  of  the  seekers  after  truth — men  who 
were  not  greatly  concerned  in  the  preservation  of  the 
mummy  dust  of  dogma.  But  how  many  thousand 
persons  are  there  not,  to-day,  who  think  that  the 
Church  is  on  one  side,  and  the  truth  on  the 
other?  The  intolerant  attitude  of  the  Church,  still 
maintained  in  these  days,  when  the  spirit  of  science 
pervades  every  form  of  thought,  has  been  productive 
of  probably  the  largest  body  that  ever  existed  in  this 
country,  of  sensible  men  and  women,  who  never  enter 
a  church  door.  They  want  to  know  whatsoever 
things  are  true ;  they  do  not  want  to  be  dredged  with 
the  mummy  dust  of  dogma." 

."  But  the  Bible— the  Bible  !  " 

"  It  is  necessary  for  me  to  tell  you  all  that  I  feel  on 
this  subject ;  all  that  I  have  felt  for  several  years 
past — ever  since  I  left  the  divinity  school  behind  me, 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  29 

and  went  into  the  world  of  thinking  men  and  women. 
It  is  necessary  to  tell  these  men  and  women  in  unmis- 
takable language  that  our  faith  aims  at  a  perfect 
type  of  manhood — at  the  perfection  of  truth.  It  is 
necessary  to  tell  them  that  we  do  not  regard,  except 
with  abhorrence,  such  types  of  men  as  have  for  cen- 
turies been  held  up  to  admiration  simply  because  they 
have  for  centuries  been  the  objects  of  admiration,  of 
imitation,  of  veneration,  on  the  part  of  the  debased 
people  who  gave  us  the  earlier  books  of  the  Bible.  The 
memory  of  Jacob  became  the  dominant  influence 
among  the  Hebrew  nation  ;  hence  the  continuous 
curse  that  rested  upon  them,  the  curse  that  rests  upon 
the  cheat,  the  defrauder  of  his  own  household,  his 
brother,  his  father,  his  uncle.  It  is  necessary  to  say 
that  the  world  should  know  that  our  religion  is 
founded  upon  truth,  purity,  self-sacrifice — that  it  ab- 
hors the  cheat  and  the  sensualist.  It  is  necessary  to 
proclaim  to  the  world  our  abhorrence  of  the  cult 
whose  highest  development  was  the  Pharisee.  The 
aim  of  the  religion  of  Christ  is  to  produce  the  perfect 
man,  and  to  root  out  the  Pharisee.  When  the  Church 
ceases  to  connive  at  falsehood  and  sensualism ;  when 
it  openly  professes  its  abhorrence  of  the  religion  of 
the  Hebrews  ;  then,  and  then  only,  will  it  become  the 
power  in  the  earth  which  the  exponent  of  Christianity 
should  become.  Humanity  has  been  crying  out  for 
the  religion  of  humanity,  that  is,  Christianity,  for 
centuries,  but  the  Church  tells  it  that  true  religion  is 
an  amalgamation  of  the  loveliness  of  Christianity  and 
the  barbarity  of  Judaism — an  impossible  amalgama- 
tion, and  one  which  millions  of  poor  souls  have  per- 


30  PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA. 

ished  in  a  vain  attempt  to  accomplish.  Humanity 
wants  Christ,  and  Christ  only,  and  that  the  Church 
has  hitherto  refused  to  give  ;  hence  the  millions  of 
thinking  men  and  women,  believers  in  the  religion  of 
Christ,  who  remain  forever  outside  the  walls  of  the 
Church ;  hence,  also,  that  terrible  record  of  murder 
and  massacre,  perpetrated  through  long  ages  with  the 
sanction  of  the  Church.  Where,  in  the  religion  of 
Christ,  can  one  find  the  sanction  for  massacre?  It  is 
nowhere  to  be  found  except  in  the  Psalms  of  the 
senile  sensualist — in  the  commands  of  Moses,  the 
leader  of  the  marauders  of  the  desert.  Christ  swept 
away  the  barbarities  of  the  teaching  of  Moses.  He 
perceived  how  miserably  it  had  failed  ;  how  it  had 
retarded  all  that  was  good  in  man,  and  sanctioned  all 
that  was  evil.  He  perceived  how  it  had  kept  the 
nation  in  a  condition  of  barbarity  ;  how  it  had  made 
it  the  prey  of  the  civilized  nations  around  it ;  how  it 
had  made  the  Hebrew  nation  the  contempt  of  civiliza- 
tion ;  and  yet  the  Church  that  calls  itself  the  Church 
of  Christ  has  not  yet  had  the  courage  to  offer  human- 
ity anything  but  that  impossible  task — the  amalgama- 
tion of  the  law  that  came  by  Moses  and  the  grace  and 
truth  that  came  by  Jesus  Christ." 

He  spoke  with  all  the  fervor  of  the  preacher,  with 
pale  face,  brilliant  eyes,  and  clenched  hands  ;  but  in  a 
voice  adapted  to  a  drawing  room.  Phyllis  of  Philistia 
could  not  but  admit  that,  in  the  phrase  of  Philistia, 
he  had  spoken  in  perfect  taste.  He  had  not  alluded 
definitely  to  the  boldness  of  Ruth  or  to  the  calorific 
course  accepted  by  the  aged  David.  He  had  spoken 
in  those  general  terms  which  are  adopted  by  the 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  31 

clergyman  whenever  errs  against  good  taste  as  defined 
by  the  matrons  of  Philistia. 

She  did  not  know  whether  she  admired  him  or 
detested  him.  But  she  was  certain  that  she  did  not 
love  him.  He  might  be  right  in  all  that  he  had  said, 
but  she  had  freed  herself  from  him.  He  might  be  des- 
tined to  become  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of 
the  last  ten  years  of  the  century,  but  she  would  never 
marry  him. 

She  stood  face  to  face  with  him  when  he  had  spoken. 

There  was  a  long  silence. 

A  gleam,  a  very  little  gleam  of  triumph  came  to  his 
eyes. 

"  Good-by,"  said  she,  flashing  out  her  hand  to  him, 
and  with  her  eyes  still  fixed  upon  his  face. 


CHAPTER  V. 

"  IN   LOVE   THERE   ARE   NO   GOOD-BYS." 

HE  was  so  startled  that  he  took  a  step  backward. 
She  remained  with  her  hand  outstretched. 

Was  that  the  only  result  of  the  eloquent  expression 
of  his  views — that  outstretched  hand  which  was  offered 
to  him  for  an  instant  only  as  a  symbol  of  its  with- 
drawal from  him  forever? 

"  You  cannot  mean " 

"  Good-by,"  said  she. 

"  Have  I  not  explained  all  that  seemed  to  you  to 
stand  in  need  of  an  explanation  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  The  book — the  book  remains.  I  asked  for  no 
explanation,"  said  she. 

"  But  you  are  too  good,  too  reasonable,  to  dismiss 
me  in  this  fashion,  Phyllis.  Why,  even  the  bishop — 
would  sit  upon  a  fence  to  see  how  tJie  book  vvonld  be 
received  by  the  public  before  taking  action  against  the 
author"  was  what  was  in  his  mind,  but  he  stopped 
short,  and  then  added  a  phrase  that  had  no  reference 
to  the  bishop.  "  Can  you  ever  have  loved  me  ?  "  was 
the  phrase  which  he  thought  should  appeal  to  her 
more  forcibly  than  any  reference  to  the  bishop's  sense 
of  what  was  opportune. 

She  took  back  her  hand,  and  her  eyes  fell  at  the 
same  moment  that  her  face  flushed. 

3* 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1USTIA.  33 

He  felt  that  he  had  not  been  astray  in  his  estimate 
of  the  controversial  value — in  the  eyes  of  a  girl,  of 
course — of  the  appeal  which  he  made  to  her.  A  girl 
understands  nothing  of  the  soundness  of  an  argument 
on  a  Biblical  question  (or  any  other),  he  thought ;  but 
she  understands  an  appeal  made  to  her  by  a  man 
whom  she  has  loved,  and  whom  she  therefore  loves 
still,  though  something  may  have  occurred  to  make 
her  think  otherwise. 

"  Can  you  ever  have  loved  me  ?  "  he  said  again,  and 
his  voice  was  now  more  reproachful. 

There  was  a  pause  before  she  said  : 

"  That  is  the  question  which  I  have  been  asking 
myself  for  some  time — ever  since  I  read  about  that 
book.  Oh,  please,  Mr.  Holland,  do  not  stay  any 
longer !  Cannot  you  see  that  if,  after  you  have  made 
an  explanation  that  should  satisfy  any  reasonable  per- 
son, I  still  remain  in  my  original  way  of  thinking,  I  am 
not  the  woman  who  should  be  your  wife  ?  " 

"  You  would  see  with  my  eyes  if  you  were  my  wife," 
he  said,  and  he  believed  that  she  would,  so  large  an 
amount  of  confidence  had  he  in  his  own  power  to 
dominate  a  woman. 

"Ah!"  she  said,  "you  have  provided  me  with  the 
strongest  reason  why  I  should  never  become  your  wife, 
Mr.  Holland." 

"  Do  not  say  that,  Phyllis !  "  he  cried,  in  a  low  voice, 
almost  a  piteous  voice.  "  I  must  have  you  with  me  in 
this  great  work  which  I  feel  has  been  given  me  to 
accomplish.  I  am  prepared  to  make  any  sacrifice  for 
the  cause  which  I  have  at  heart — the  cause  to  which  I 
mean  to  devote  the  rest  of  my  life ;  but  you — you — I 


34  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

must  have  you  with  me,  Phyllis.  Don't  give  me  an 
answer  now.  All  I  ask  of  you  is  to  think  over  the 
whole  matter  from  the  standpoint  of  one  who  loves  the 
truth,  and  who  does  not  fear  the  result  of  those  who 
are  investigators.  A  few  years  ago  the  geologists  were 
regarded  as  the  enemies  of  the  faith.  Later  the  evolu- 
tionists were  looked  on  with  abhorrence.  Had  any 
clergyman  ventured  to  assent  to  that  doctrine  which 
we  now  know  to  be  the  everlasting  truth  of  the  scheme 
of  earthly  life  propounded  by  the  Creator,  he  would 
have  Seen  compelled  to  leave  the  Church.  I  do  not 
know  what  will  happen  to  me — nor  do  I  greatly  care, 
if  you  are  with  me,  my  Phyllis.  No,  no !  do  not  say 
anything  to  me  now.  All  that  I  ask  of  you  is  to 
think— think— think." 

"That  is  it — that  is  your  modern  scientific  spirit !  " 
she  cried.  "  You,  and  such  as  you,  say  '  think — think — 
think'  to  us — to  poor  women  and  men  who  are  ask- 
ing for  comfort,  for  protection  against  the  evil  of  the 
world.  You  say  'think — think — think,'  when  you 
should  say  'pray — pray — pray.'  Where  are  you  going 
to  end  ?  You  have  begun  by  taking  from  us  our  Bible. 
What  do  you  propose  to  give  us  in  exchange  for  it? 
No — no,  don't  answer  me.  I  did  not  mean  to  enter 
into  the  question  with  you — to  enter  into  any  question 
with  you.  I  have  no  right  to  do  so." 

"You  have  every  right,  Phyllis.  If  I  should  cause 
offense  to  the  least  of  the  little  ones  of  the  flock  with 
which  I  have  been  intrusted,  it  would  be  better  that  a 
millstone  were  hanged  round  my  neck  and  that  I  were 
cast  into  the  sea.  You  have  a  right  to  ask  and  it  is 
laid  on  me  to  answer." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  35 

"  Then  I  decline  to  avail  myself  of  the  privilege ;  I 
will  ask  you  nothing,  except  to  say  good-by." 

"  I  will  not  say  it,  Phyllis,  and  I  will  not  hear  you 
say  it.  Three  months  ago  you  told  me  that  you  loved 
me." 

"  And  I  fancied  that  I  did,  but  now " 

"  Ah  !  you  think  that  you  have  the  power  to  cease 
loving  at  a  moment's  notice?  You  will  find  out  your 
mistake,  my  child.  In  love  there  are  no  good-bys.  I 
take  your  hand  now;  but  not  to  say  good-by ;  I  feel 
that  you  are  still  mine — that  you  will  be  mine  more 
than  ever  when  you  think — think — and  pray." 

"  Ah  !     You  ask  me  to  pray  ?  " 

"  Pray — pray  for  me,  child.  I  need  the  prayers  of 
such  as  you,  for  I  feel  that  my  hour  of  deepest  trial  is 
drawing  nigh.  Do  you  fancy  that  I  am  th'e  man  to 
take  back  anything  that  I  have  written  ?  Look  at  me, 
Phyllis",  I  tell  you  here  that  I  will  stand  by  everything 
that  I  have  written.  Whatever  comes  o'f  it,  the  book 
remains.  Even  if  I  lose  all  that  I  have  worked  for, — 
even  if  I  lose  you, — I  will  still  say  '  the  book  remains.' 
I  am  ready  to  suffer  for  it.  I  say  in  all  humility  that 
I  believe  God  will  give  me  grace  to  die  for  it." 

She  had  given  him  her  hand.  He  was  still  holding 
it  when  he  spoke  his  final  sentence,  looking,  not  into 
her  face,  but  into  a  space  beyond  it.  His  eyes  more 
than  suggested  the  eyes  of  a  martyr  waiting  undaunted 
for  the  lighting  of  the  fagots.  Suddenly  he  dropped 
her  hand.  He  looked  for  a  moment  into  her  face. 
He  saw  that  the  tears  were  upon  it.  He  turned  and 
walked  out  of  the  room  without  a  word. 

No  word  came  from  her. 


36  PHYLLIS   OF  PHILIS^IA. 

He  knew  that  he  had  left  her  at  exactly  the  right 
moment.  She  was  undoubtedly  annoyed  by  the  pub- 
lication of  the  book ;  but  that  was  because  she  had 
read  some  reviews  of  it,  and  was,  girl-like,  under  the 
impression  that  the  murmur  of  the  reviewers  was  the 
mighty  voice  that  echoes  round  the  world.  He  felt 
that  she  would  think  differently  when  his  real  persecu- 
tion began.  He  looked  forward  with  great  hope  to 
the  result  of  his  real  persecution.  She  would  never 
hold  out  against  that.  If  the  bishop  would  only  take 
action  at  once  and  attempt  to  deprive  him  of  his  pas- 
torate, there  was  nothing  that  he  might  not  look  for. 

And  then  he  reflected  that  on  the  following  Sunday 
the  church  would  be  crowded  to  the  doors.  She  would 
see  that.  She  would  see  the  thousands  of  the  fashion- 
able women — he  hoped  even  for  men — who  would  fill 
every  available  seat,  every  available  standing  place  in 
the  church,  and  who  would  all  be  anxious  to  hear  his 
defense.  That  would  show  her  that  the  publication  of 
this  book  had  raised  him  far  above  the  heads  of  the 
ordinary  clergyman  who  droned  away,  Sunday  after 
Sunday,  in  half  empty  churches  to  congregations  that 
never  became  interested.  Yes,  for  many  Sundays  St. 
Chad's  would  be  crowded  to  the  doors.  And  then  he 
trusted  that  the  bishop  would  take  action  against  him, 
and  in  proportion  to  the  seventy  of  his  persecution  on 
the  one  hand  would  be  his  popularity  on  the  other 
hand. 

All  this  would,  he  felt,  advance  the  cause  which  he 
had  at  heart ;  for  he  was  thoroughly  sincere  in  his  be- 
lief that  the  views  which  he  advocated  in  "  Revised 
Versions"  were  calculated  to  place  the  Church  on  a 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  37 

firmer  basis,  and  to  cause  it  to  appeal  to  those  persons 
who,  having  been  inculcated  with  the  spirit  of  mod- 
ern scientific  inquiry,  never  entered  a  church  porch. 

He  had  not  been  guilty  of  an  empty  boast  when  he 
had  expressed  to  her  his  readiness  to  die  for  the  prin- 
ciples which  he  had  enunciated  with  considerable  clear- 
ness in  his  book ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  when  he  was 
walking  down  Piccadilly  he  could  not  avoid  feeling 
that  if  he  were  only  subjected  to  a  vigorous  persecu- 
tion— a  high-class  persecution,  of  course,  with  the 
bishop  at  the  head  of  it,  he  would  be  almost  certain  to 
win  back  Phyllis.  Her  desertion  of  him  was  undoubt- 
edly a  blow  to  him ;  but  he  thought  that,  after  all,  it 
was  not  unnatural  that  such  a  girl  as  she  should  be 
somewhat  frightened  at  the  boldness  of  the  book  which 
he  had  published.  He  had  seen  the  day,  not  so  very 
long  ago,  when  he  would  have  been  frightened  at  it 
himself.  At  any  rate  he  felt  sure  that  Phyllis  would  be 
able  to  differentiate  between  the  case  of  the  author  of 
"  Revised  Versions  "  and  the  case  of  the  mediocre  cler- 
gyman who  defied  his  bishop  on  a  question  of — what 
was  the  question? — something  concerning  the  twirling 
of  his  thumbs  from  east  to  west,  instead  of  from 
west  to  east ;  yes,  or  an  equally  trivial  matter.  He 
trusted  that  she  was  too  discriminating  a  girl  to 
bracket  him  with  that  wretched,  shallow-minded  person 
who  endeavored  to  pose  as  a  martyr,  because  he  would 
not  be  permitted  to  do  whatever  he  tried  to  insist  on 
doing.  Mr.  Holland  thought  it  had  something  to  say 
to  the  twirling  of  his  thumbs  at  a  certain  part  of  the 
service  for  the  day,  but  if  anyone  had  said  that  his 
memory  was  at  fault — that  the  contumacious  curate 


38  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

only  wanted  to  make  some  gestures  at  the  psychologi- 
cal, or,  perhaps,  the  spiritual,  moment,  he  would  not 
have  been  surprised.  He  had  always  thought  that 
curate  a  very  silly  person.  He  thanked  his  God  that 
he  was  not  such  a  man,  and  he  thought  that  he  might 
trust  Phyllis  to  understand  the  difference  between  the 
position  which  he  assumed  and  the  posturing  of  the 
silly  curate. 

His  knowledge  of  her  powers  of  discrimination  was 
not  at  fault.  Phyllis  never  for  a  moment  thought  of 
him  as  posturing.  She  did  him  more  than  justice.  She 
regarded  him  as  terribly  in  earnest ;  no  man  unless 
one  who  was  terribly  in  earnest  could  have  written  that 
book — a  book  which  she  felt  was  bound  to  alienate 
from  him  all  the  people  who  had  previously  honored 
him  and  delighted  to  listen  to  his  preaching.  Some- 
one had  said  in  her  hearing  that  the  preaching  of 
George  Holland  was,  compared  to  the  preaching  of  the 
average  clergyman,  as  the  electric  light  is  to  gas — the 
gas  of  a  street  lamp.  She  had  flushed  with  pleasure, — 
that  had  been  six  months  ago, — when  it  first  occurred 
to  her  that  to  be  the  wife  of  a  distinguished  clergy- 
man, who  was  also  a  scholar,  was  the  highest  vocation 
to  which  a  woman  could  aspire.  She  had  told  her 
father  of  this  testimony  to  the  ability  of  the  rector  of 
St.  Chad's — pride  had  been  in  her  voice  and  eyes. 

"  The  man  who  said  that  was  a  true  critic,"  her 
father  had  remarked.  "  Electric  light  ?  Quite  so. 
In  the  absence  of  sunlight  the  electric  light  does 
extremely  well  for  the  requirements  of  the  average 
man  and  woman.  Your  critic  said  nothing  about 
volts?  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  39 

That  was  how  her  father  became  irritating  to  her 
occasionally — leading  up  to  some  phrase  which  he  had 
in  his  collection  of  bric-a-brac.  "  Volts !  " 

Yes,  she  felt  that  the  sincerity  of  George  Holland 
would  alienate  from  him  all  the  people  who  had  pre- 
viously held  him  in  high  esteem.  Although  she  was 
a  daughter  of  Philistia,  it  had  never  occurred  to  her 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  sneers  scandale,  and  that 
the  effect  of  such  an  incident  in  connection  with  the 
rector  of  a  fashionable  church  rarely  leads  to  his 
isolation. 

She  did  George  Holland  more  than  justice,  for  she 
could  not  conceive  his  looking  forward  to  a  crowded 
and  interested  attendance  at  his  church  on  the  follow- 
ing Sunday  and  perhaps  many  successive  Sundays. 
She  could  not  conceive  his  thinking  what  effect  the 
noticing  of  such  an  attendance  would  have  upon  her. 
To  her,  as  to  most  girls,  the  heroic  man  is  all  heroic. 
The  picture  of  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  taking  a  list 
of  the  linen  to  be  sent  to  the  wash  while  his  troops 
were  getting  into  position  for  a  great  battle  is  one 
from  which  they  turn  away.  She  could  not  think  of 
George  Holland's  calculating  upon  the  effect  of  a 
crowded  church,  with  newspaper  reporters  scattered 
throughout  the  building,  taking  down  every  word  that 
might  fall  from  his  lips.  She  regarded  him  as  a  man 
who  had  been  compelled,  by  the  insidious  influence  of 
what  he  called  scientific  thought,  to  write  a  shocking 
book  ;  but  one  that  he  certainly  believed  was  destined 
to  effect  a  great  reform  in  the  world.  Her  eyes  had 
filled  with  tears  as  he  stood  before  her  with  the  gleam 
of  martyrdom  in  his  eyes,  and  for  an  instant  she  felt 


40  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

a  woman's  impulse — that  was  a  factor  which  George 
Holland  had  taken  into  consideration  before  he  had 
spoken — to  give  both  her  hands  to  him  and  to  promise 
to  stand  by  his  side  in  his  hour  of  trial.  But  she 
thought  of  Ruth  and  restrained  herself.  Before  he 
had  reached  the  door  she  thought  of  him  as  the  man 
from  whom  she  had  managed  to  escape  before  it  was 
too  late. 

She  wondered  if  any  of  those  young  women  of  the 
church,  who  had  gone  back  to  their  butterfly  garments 
on  hearing  that  Mr.  Holland  had  asked  her  to  marry 
him,  would  hunt  out  the  sober  garments  which  they 
had  discarded  and  wear  them  when  they  would  hear 
that  she  was  not  going  to  marry  Mr.  Holland. 

She  rather  thought  that  they  would  get  new  dresses 
and  hats  of  the  right  degree  of  sobriety.  Fashions 
change  so  quickly  between  February  and  May. 

And  then  there  was  the  question  of  sleeves  ! 

Anyhow  they  would,  she  felt,  regard  themselves  as 
having  another  chance.  That  was  how  they  would 
put  it. 

Only  for  an  instant  did  she  become  thoughtful. 
Then  she  sprang  to  her  feet  from  the  sofa  on  which 
she  had  thrown  herself  when  her  tears  were  threaten- 
ing, and  cried  : 

"  Let  them  have  him — let  them  all  have  him — all— 
all ! " 

That  would  have  been  absurd. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"  IF  A  GIRL  REALLY  LOVES  A  MAN  SHE  WILL 
MARRY  HIM,  EVEN  THOUGH  HE  SHOULD  WRITE  A 
BOOK." 

PHYLLIS  meant  the  half  hour  which  would  elapse 
before  her  tea  was  brought  to  her  to  be  a  very  grate- 
ful space.  She  meant  to  dwell  upon  the  achievement 
of  her  freedom,  for  the  feeling  that  she  was  free  was 
very  sweet  to  her.  The  fetters  that  had  bound  her  had 
been  flung  away,  and  she  now  only  had  a  splendid  sense 
of  freedom.  So  sweet  was  this  sense  that  she  made 
up  her  mind  that  in  future  it  would  never  do  for  her 
to  run  any  such  risk  as  that  to  which  she  had  just  sub- 
jected herself.  How  could  she  ever  have  been  such  a 
fool  as  to  promise  to  marry  George  Holland  ?  That 
was  what  she  was  asking  herself  as  she  lay  back  on  the 
pillows  of  the  French  sofa,  and  listened  to  the  soft 
sound  of  the  carriage  wheels  of  the  callers  at  the  other 
houses  in  the  square. 

What  a  singular  wish  that  was  of  hers — to  become 
the  wife  of  a  clergyman  !  It  seemed  very  singular  to 
her  just  now.  Just  now  she  did  not  want  to  become 
the  wife  of  anyone,  and  she  hoped  that  no  one  would 
ask  her.  She  did  not  want  the  worry  of  it.  Ah,  she 
would  be  very  careful  in  the  future  :  she  would  take 
very  good  care  that  the  fact  of  other  girls  wanting  to 


42  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA. 

marry  one  particular  man  would  not  make  her  anxious 
to  have  him  all  to  herself. 

Before  her  resolutions  on  this  very  important  point 
had  been  fully  considered  in  all  their  bearings,  her 
maid  entered  to  ask  if  she  was  at  home.  The  butler 
had  sent  a  footman  to  her  to  make  that  inquiry,  the 
fact  being  that  her  particular  friend,  Mrs.  Linton,  had 
called  to  see  her. 

Phyllis  jumped  up,  saying  : 

"  Of  course  I  am  home  to  Mrs.  Linton.  She  will 
have  tea  with  me." 

She  went  to  a  glass  to  see  if  the  tears  which  had 
been  in  her  eyes — they  had  not  fallen — had  left  any 
traces  that  the  acuteness  of  Ella  Linton  might  detect. 
The  result  of  her  observation  was  satisfactory ;  she 
would  not  even  need  to  sit  with  her  back  to  the  light. 

Then  Mrs.  Linton  was  announced,  and  flowed  into 
the  arms  of  her  friend  Phyllis,  crying : 

"  Of  course  I  knew  that  you  would  be  at  home  to 
me,  my  beloved,  even  though  you  might  be  in  the 
midst  of  one  of  those  brilliant  speeches  which  you 
write  out  for  your  father  to  deliver  in  the  House  and 
cause  people  to  fancy  that  he  is  the  wittiest  man  in 
place — so  unlike  that  dreadful  teetotal  man  who  grins 
through  the  horse  collar  and  thinks  that  people  are 
imposed  on.  Now  let  me  look  at  you,  you  lucky  girl ! 
You  are  a  lucky  girl,  you  know." 

"Yes,"  said  Phyllis,  "you  have  called  on  me.  We 
shall  have  tea  in  a  minute.  How  good  of  you  to  come 
to  me  the  first  day  you  arrived  in  town!  How  well 
you  are  looking,  my  Ella  !  " 

"  So  glad  you  think  so,"  said  Ella.    "  I  haven't  aged 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  43 

much  during  the  eight  months  we  have  been  apart.  I 
have  had  a  very  good  time  on  the  whole,  and  so  had 
Stephen,  though  he  was  with  me  for  close  upon  a 
month,  poor  little  man  !  But  it  is  you,  Phyllis,  it  is  you 
who  are  the  girl  of  the  hour.  Heavens!  you  were 
farsighted  !  Who  could  have  imagined  that  he  would 
become  so  famous  all  in  a  moment  ?  I  must  confess 
that  when  you  wrote  to  me  that  letter  telling  me  of 
your  engagement,  and  how  happy  you  were,  I  was  a 
little  cross.  I  could  not  clearly  see  you  the  wife  of  a 
parson,  even  so  presentable  a  parson  as  Mr.  Hol- 
land. Oh,  of  course  I  wrote  you  the  usual  exuberant 
letter — what  would  be  the  good  of  doing  anything 

else?  But  now  that  he  has  become  famous Oh,  I 

want  you  to  bring  him  with  you  to  my  first  At  Home — 
Tuesday  week.  It's  very  short  notice,  I  know,  but 
you  must  come,  and  bring  him.  You  are  both  certain 
to  be  in  great  demand.  Why  do  you  shake  your  head 
that  way  ?  You  need  not  say  that  you  are  engaged 
for  Tuesday  week." 

"  I  will  not  say  that  I  am  engaged  at  all,  in  any 
sense,"  said  Phyllis,  with  a  very  shallow  laugh,  a  laugh 
that  sounded  like  a  ripple  among  pebbles ;  her  usual 
laugh  was  like  a  ripple  upon  a  silver  sand. 

"  In  any  sense — for  Tuesday  week  ?  " 

Ella  raised  her  eyebrows  to  the  extent  of  the  eighth 
of  an  inch.  She  lowered  them  in  a  moment,  however, 
for  the  tea  Avas  being  brought  in.  It  required  two 
able-bodied  men  (in  plush)  to  carry  in  a  dainty  little 
silver  tray,  with  a  little  silver  tea-pot  of  a  pattern  that 
silversmiths,  for  reasons  which  have  never  been  fully 
explained,  call  "  Queen  Anne."  One  of  the  men, 


44  PHYLLIS  Of''  PHILISTIA. 

however,  devoted  himself  to  the  care  of  the  hot  cakes 
of  various  subtle  types  which  were  inclosed  in  silver 
covered  dishes. 

With  the  lowering  of  her  eyebrows  Mrs.  Linton's 
voice  lost  its  previous  inflection. 

"  I  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  hit  upon  some- 
thing distinctly  new  in  that  way  " — she  indicated  the 
muffin  dishes.  "  A  cake  that  may  be  eaten  hot  with- 
out removing  one's  gloves." 

"What  a  boon!"  cried  Phyllis.  "You  got  it  at 
Vienna,  of  course." 

"  Of  course.  You  will  learn  all  about  it  when  you 
come." 

The  able-bodied  men  withdrew,  and  before  the  door 
was  quite  closed  behind  them,  Ella  was  gazing  at  her 
friend,  her  face  alight  with  inquiry. 

"Now  pray  explain  yourself,"  she  whispered.  "  Not 
engaged  in  any  sense — those  were  your  words.  What 
do  they  mean?" 

"  Take  them  literally,  my  Ella,"  said  Phyllis. 

"  Literally  ?  But  you  wrote  to  me  that  you  had 
engaged  yourself  to  marry  Mr.  Holland  ?  " 

"  And  now  I  tell  you  by  word  of  mouth  that  I  have 
disengaged  myself." 

"  Good  Heavens  !  You,  I  fancied,  would  be  the  last 
girl  in  the  world  to  promise  to  marry  a  man  and  then 
back  out  of  it." 

"That  was  what  I  myself  fancied  up  till  Monday 
last." 

"But  how  can  you  have  changed  your  mind  ?  Isn't 
it  very  unfortunate — just  when  the  man  has  become 
famous?" 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  45 

"  How  could  it  be  otherwise,  Ella,  when  the  man 
wrote  so  horrible  a  book  as  that?" 

"Horrible?  Is  it  horrible?  I  had  no  idea.  I'm 
no  judge  of  what  is  horrible  in  theology,  or  meta- 
physics, or  whatever  it  is.  But  I  do  profess  to  know 
when  a  man  has  made  a  hit,  whether  in  theology  or 
anything  else  ;  and  I  perceive  quite  clearly  that  your 
Mr.  Holland — well,  not  your  Mr.  Holland,  has  made 
a  distinct  hit.  What  sort  of  face  is  that  you're  making 
at  me  ?  Oh,  I  see.  It's  the  face  of  the  orthodox  at 
the  mention  of  something  not  quite  orthodox.  Pshut ! 
don't  be  a  goose,  Phyllis." 

"  I  don't  intend.  Have  I  not  told  you  that  I'm  not 
going  to  marry  Mr.  Holland  ?  " 

"  That  is  like  one  of  the  phrases  which  you  give  to 
your  father,  so  that  the  people  might  think  him  clever. 
Orthodox !  Who  cares  nowadays  for  what  is  dully 
orthodox?  Who  ever  heard  of  a  hero  in  orthodoxy 
nowadays?  The  thing  is  impossible.  There  may  be, 
of  course,  thousands  of  orthodox  heroes,  but  one  never 
hears  anything  of  them.  The  planets  Jupiter  and 
Saturn  and  Mercury  and  Mars  and  the  rest  of  them  come 
and  goat  their  appointed  seasons,  and  no  one  ever  gives 
them  a  second  thought,  poor  old  respectable  things ! 
but  the  moment  a  comet  appears  in  the  sky  everyone 
rushes  out  to  gaze  at  it,  and  the  newspapers  deal  with 
it  from  day  to  day,  and  the  illustrated  papers  give  its 
portrait.  Nothing  could  be  more  unorthodox  than 
your  comet.  Oh,  Phyllis,  my  child,  don't  talk  nowa- 
days of  orthodoxy  or  the  other — what  do  they  call  it  ? — 
heterodoxy.  Mr.  Holland's  name  will  be  in  everyone's 
mouth  for  the  next  year  at  least,  and  if  his  bishop  or 


46  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

a  friendly  church  warden  prosecutes  him,  and  the  thing 
is  worked  up  properly,  he  ought  to  be  before  the 
public  for  the  next  five  years." 

"  Oh,  Ella  !  " 

"  I'm  not  overstating  the  case,  I  assure  you,  my 
dear.  A  man  was  telling  me  about  one  Colenso — he 
was,  so  far  as  I  could  gather,  a  first-class  man  at  alge- 
bra and  heresy  and  things  like  that.  He  was  Bishop 
of  Zanzibar  or  Uganda  or  some  place,  and  he  wrote 
a  book  about  Moses — showing  that  Moses  couldn't 
have  written  something  or  other.  Well,  he  took  a  lot 
of  prosecuting,  five  or  six  years,  I  believe,  and  he 
didn't  go  nearly  so  far  as  Mr.  Holland  does  in  that 
book  of  his.  All  this  time  people  talked  about  little 
else  but  Colenso,  and  his  books  made  him  a  fortune. 
That  was  before  our  time,  dear — when  the  newspapers 
weren't  worked  as  they  are  now.  Block  printing  has 
made  more  heroes  than  the  longest  campaign  on 
record.  Yes,  Mr.  Courtland  said  so  two  days  ago.  I 
think  I'll  try  some  more  of  that  lovely  cake :  it's  like 
warm  ice,  isn't  it?  Oh,  you'll  not  be  so  foolish  as  to 
throw  over  your  Mr.  Holland." 

"It  is  already  done,"  said  Phyllis.  "I'm  so  glad 
that  you  like  the  cake.  It  is  very  subtle.  What  a 
delightful  idea — warm  ice  !  " 

"  Never  mind  the  cake.  I  want  to  hear  more  of 
this  matter  of  Mr.  Holland,"  said  Ella.  "Do  you 
mean  to  tell  me  plainly  that  you  threw  over  Mr.  Hol- 
land because  he  wrote  a  book  that  will  bring  him  fame 
and  fortune  ?" 

"  I  have  thrown  over  Mr.  Holland  because  he  has 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  47 

written  a  book  to  make  people  have  a  contempt  for 
the  Bible,"  said  Phyllis. 

"  Then  all  I  can  say  is  that  you  were  never  in  love 
with  the  man,"  cried  Ella. 

"  You  may  say  that  if  you  please." 

"  I  do  say  it.  If  a  girl  really  loves  a  man,  she  will 
marry  him  even  though  he  should  write  a  book  against 
Darwin.  If  a  girl  really  loves  a  man  she  will  stand  by 
him  all  the  closer  when  he  is  undergoing  a  course  of 
honorable  persecution,  with  his  portrait  in  every  paper 
that  one  picks  up." 

"  I  dare  say  that  is  true  enough,"  assented  Phyllis. 
"  Perhaps  I  never  did  really  love  Mr.  Holland.  Per- 
haps I  only  fancied  I  cared  for  him  because  I  saw  that 
so  many  other  girls — took  to  wearing  chocolates  and 
grays  and  kept  their  sleeves  down  just  when  sleeves 
were  highest." 

"  Of  course  it  was  only  natural  that  you  should  wish 
to — well,  colloquially,  to  wipe  the  eyes  of  the  other 
girls.  How  many  girls,  I  should  like  to  know,  begin 
to  think  of  a  man  as  a  possible  husband  until  they 
perceive  that  the  thoughts  of  other  girls  are  turned  in 
his  direction  ?  " 

"  At  any  rate,  whatever  I  may  have  done  long 
ago " 

"  Three  months  ago." 

"  Three  months  ago.  Whatever  I  may  have  done 
then,  I  know  that  I  don't  love  him  now." 

"  Don't  be  too  sure,  my  dear  Phyllis.  If  there  is 
one  thing  more  than  another  about  which  a  woman 
should  never  be  positive,  it  is  whether  or  not  she  loves 


48  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

a  particular  man.  What  mistakes  they  make  !  No, 
I'll  never  believe  that  you  turned  him  adrift  simply 
because  he  wrote  something  disparagingly  about 
Solomon,  or  was  it  David  ?  And  I  did  so  want  you 
and  him  for  my  next  day ;  I  meant  it  to  be  such  a 
coup,  to  have  returned  to  town  only  a  week  and  yet  to 
have  the  most  outrageously  unorthodox  parson  at 
my  house.  Ah,  that  would  indeed  have  been  a  coup  ! 
Never  mind,  I  can  at  least  have  the  beautiful  girl  who, 
though  devoted  to  the  unorthodox  parson,  threw  him 
over  on  account  of  his  unorthodoxy." 

"  Yes,  you  are  certain  of  me — that  is,  if  you  think  I 
should — if  it  wouldn't  seem  a  little " 

"  What  nonsense,  Phyllis  !  Where  have  you  been 
living  for  the  past  twenty-three  years  that  you  should 
get  such  a  funny  notion  into  your  head  ?  Do  you 
think  that  girls  nowadays  absent  themselves  from 
felicity  awhile  when  they  find  it  necessary  to  become — 
well,  disengaged — yes,  or  divorced,  for  that  matter  ?  " 

"  I  really  can't  recollect  any  case  of " 

"  Of  course  you  can't.  They  don't  exist.  The 
proper  thing  for  a  woman  to  do  when  she  gets  a 
divorce  is  to  take  a  box  at  a  theater  and  give  the 
audience  a  chance  of  recognizing  her  from  her  por- 
traits that  have  already  appeared  in  the  illustrated 
papers.  The  block  printing  has  done  that  too. 
There's  not  a  theater  manager  in  London  who  wouldn't 
give  his  best  box  to  a  woman  who  has  come  straight 
from  the  divorce  court.  The  managers  recognize  the 
fact  that  she  is  in  the  same  line  as  themselves.  But 
for  you,  my  dear  Phyllis — oh,  you  will  never  do  him  the 
injustice  to  keep  your  throwing  over  of  him  a  secret." 


PHYLLIS  OF  H1ILISTIA  49 

"  Injustice?     Oh,  Ella!" 

"  I  say  injustice.  Good  gracious,  child  !  cannot  you 
see  that  if  it  becomes  known  that  the  girl  who  had 
promised  to  marry  him  has  broken  off  her  engagement 
to  him  simply  because  he  has  written  that  book,  the 
interest  that  attaches  to  him  on  account  of  his  unor- 
thodoxy  will  be  immeasurably  increased  ?" 

,  "I  will  not  do  him  the  injustice  of  fancying  for  a 
moment  that  he  would  be  gratified  on  this  account. 
Whatever  he  may  be,  Ella,  he  is  at  least  sincere  and 
single-minded  in  his  aims." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  it,  my  only  joy.  But  however 
sincere  a  man  may  be  in  his  aims,  he  still  cannot 
reasonably  object  to  the  distinction  that  is  thrust  upon 
him  when  he  has  done  something  out  of  the  common. 
The  men  who  make  books  know  that  that  sort  of  thing 
pays.  Someone  told  me  the  other  day — I  believe  it 
was  Herbert  Courtland — that  it  is  the  men  who  write 
books  embodying  a  great  and  noble  aim  who  make 
the  closest  bargains  with  their  publishers.  I  heard  of 
a  great  and  good  clergyman  the  other  day  who  wrote 
a  Life  of  Christ,  and  then  complained  in  the  papers  of 
his  publishers  having  only  given  him  a  miserable  per- 
centage on  the  profits.  That  is  how  they  talk  nowa- 
days ;  the  profit  resulting  from  the  Life  of  Christ  is  to 
be  measured  in  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence." 

"  Mr.  Holland  is  not  a  man  of  this  stamp,  Ella." 

"  I'm  sure  he  is  not.  At  the  same  time  if  he  isn't 
prosecuted  for  heterodoxy  no  one  will  be  more  dis- 
appointed than  Mr.  Holland,  unless,  indeed,  it  be  Mr. 
Holland's  publisher.  Who  would  begrudge  the  mar- 
tyr his  halo,  dear  ?  Even  the  most  sincere  and  single- 


50  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

minded  martyr  has  an  eye  on  that  halo.  The  halo  of 
the  up-to-date  martyr  is  made  up  of  afternoon  teas 
provided  by  fair  women,  and  full-page  portraits  in  the 
illustrated  papers." 

"  And  all  this  leads  to  —  what  ?  " 

"  It  leads  to  —  let  me  see  —  oh,  yes,  it  leads  to  your 
appearance  at  my  little  gathering.  Of  course,  you'll 
come.  Believe  me,  you'll  not  feel  the  least  uncomfort- 
able. You  will  be  The  Girl  who  Sacrificed  her  Love 
for  Conscience'  Sake.  That's  a  good  enough  qualifica- 
tion for  distinction  on  the  part  of  any  girl  in  these 
hard  times.  But  I  might  have  known  long  ago  that 
you  would  play  this  part.  That  sweetly  pathetic  voice, 
with  that  firm  mouth  and  those  lovely  soft  gray  eyes 
that  would  seem  to  a  casual  observer  to  neutralize 
the  firmness  of  the  mouth.  Oh,  yes,  my  Phyllis,  you 
have  undoubtedly  la  physionomie  du  rdle." 


"  The  role  of  the  girl  who  is  on  the  side  of  the 
Bible." 

"  I  am  certainly  on  the  side  of  the  Bible." 

"And  so  am  I.  So  I  will  look  for  you  to  be  by  my 
side  on  Tuesday  week,  and  as  often  as  you  please  in 
the  meantime.  By  the  way,  you  will  probably  meet 
Herbert  Courtland  at  our  house.  He  is  the  New 
Guinea  man,  you  know." 

"  Of  course  I  know.  You  talk  of  wanting  heroes  in 
orthodoxy  at  your  house,  while  you  have  Mr.  Court- 
land,  the  New  Guinea  explorer,  drinking  his  tea  at  your 
elbow  ?  Oh,  go  away  !  " 

"  I  hope  you  will  like  him.  We  saw  a  good  deal  of  him 
in  Italy,  and  will  probably  see  a  good  deal  of  him  here." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  51 

"  I'm  certain  to  like  him  :  you  like  him." 
"  Ah,  that's  what  you  said  to  the  young  women  who 
put  off  their  colors  and  took  to  sackcloth  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Mr.  Holland.  Don't  be  too  sure  that  you 
will  like  any  man  because  other  women  like  him. 
Now,  I  have,  as  usual,  remained  too  long  with  you. 
I'm  greatly  impressed  with  the  situation  of  the 
moment.  I  don't  say  that  I  think  you  are  wrong, 
mind  you.  Girls  should  always  be  on  the  side  of  the 
Bible.  At  any  rate  you  have,  I  repeat,  la  physionomie 
du  rdle,  and  you  can't  be  far  astray  if  you  act  up  to  it. 
Good-by,  my  dearest." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"THE   DEFENSE   OF    HOLLAND." 

ELLA  LINTON  drove  to  a  certain  shop  not  far  from 
Piccadilly, — the  only  shop  where  the  arranging  of 
feathers  is  treated  as  a  science  independent  of  the 
freaks  of  fashion, — and  at  the  door  she  met  a  tall  man 
with  the  complexion  of  mahogany,  but  with  fair  hair 
and  mustache.  People  nudged  one  another  and 
whispered  his  name  as  they  walked  past  him  before 
standing  at  the  shop  window,  pretending  to  admire 
the  feathers,  but  in  reality  to  glance  furtively  round 
at  the  man. 

The  name  that  they  whispered  to  one  another  after 
the  nudge  was  Herbert  Courtland. 

He  took  off  his  hat — it  was  a  tall  silk  one,  but  no 
one  who  knew  anything  could  avoid  feeling  that  it 
should  have  been  a  solar  toupee — when  Mrs.  Linton 
stepped  from  her  victoria. 

"  Oh,  you  here!"  said  she.  "Who  on  earth  would 
expect  to  see  you  here  ?  " 

"  You,"  said  he. 

"What?" 

"You  asked  me  a  question.     I  answered  it." 

She  laughed  as  they  walked  together  to  the  door  of 
the  feather  shop. 

"  It  appears  to  me  that  you  have  a  very  good 

52 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  53 

opinion  of  yourself  and  a  very  bad  one  of  me,"  she 
remarked,  smiling  up  to  his  face. 

"  That's  just  where  you  make  a  mistake,"  said  he. 

"How?" 

"  If  I  did  not  think  well  of  you  I  should  not  have 
ordered  Parkinson  to  make  you  a  fan  of  the  tail  of  the 
meteor." 

"  Oh,  Bertie,  you  have  done  that  ?  " 

"Why  should  I  not  doit?" 

"  But  it  is  the  only  one  in  the  world." 

"Ah,  that's  just  it.  You  are  the  only  one  in  the 
world." 

She  laughed  again,  looking  up  to  his  face. 

"  Well,  we'll  have  a  look  at  it,  anyway,"  said  she. 

They  went  into  the  shop  to  see  the  tail  feathers  of 
that  wonderful  meteor-bird  which  Herbert  Courtland 
had  just  brought  back  from  New  Guinea  with  him — 
the  most  glorious  thing  that  nature  had  produced  and 
a  great  explorer  had  risked  his  life  to  acquire,  in  order 
that  Mrs.  Linton  might  have  a  unique  feather  fan. 

About  the  same  time  the  Rev.  George  Holland  met 
in  the  same  thoroughfare  his  friend  and  patron,  the 
Earl  of  Earlscourt. 

"  By  the  Lord  Harry,  you've  done  for  yourself  now, 
my  hearty ! "  cried  the  earl.  "  What  the  blazes  do 
you  mean  by  attacking  the  Word  of  God  in  that 
fashion  ?  " 

"  Tommy,"  said  the  Rev.  George  Holland,  smiling  a 
patronizing  smile  at  his  patron,  "  Tommy,  my  friend, 
if  you  take  my  advice  you'll  not  meddle  with  what 
doesn't  concern  you.  You're  a  peer ;  better  leave 


54  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

the  Word  of  God  to  me.  I'm  not  a  peer,  but  a 
parson." 

"  I'll  not  leave  it  with  you  ;  it  isn't  safe,"  said  the 
peer.  "  Anything  more  damnably  atheistical  than 
that  book  of  yours  I  never  read." 

"And  you  didn't  read  it,  Thomas  ;  you  know  you 
only  read  a  screeching  review  of  it,  and  you  didn't 
even  read  that  through,"  said  the  parson. 

"Who  told  you  that? "asked  the  patron.  "Well, 
at  any  rate  I  read  what  you  said  about  Ruth.  It  was 
quite  scandalous !  Ruth !  Good  Lord !  what  char- 
acter is  safe  nowadays?  One  of  the  loveliest  of  the 
women  of  the  Bible — my  wife  says  so.  She  knows  all 
about  them.  And  the  best  painters  in  the  world  have 
shown  her  standing  among  the  field  of  oats.  By  the 
Lord,  sir,  it's  sheer  blasphemy !  and  worse  than  that, 
it's  making  people — good,  religious  people,  mind,  not 
the  ruck — it's  making  them  ask  why  the  blazes  I  gave 
you  the  living.  It's  a  fact." 

"  I'm  sorry  for  you,  Tommy — very  sorry.  I'm  also 
sorry  for  your  good  religious  people,  and  particularly 
sorry  for  the  phraseology  of  their  earnest  inquiries 
on  what  I  am  sure  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death  to 
them — spiritually.  That's  my  last  word,  Thomas." 

"  And  you  were  doing  so  well  at  the  Joss-house, 
too."  Lord  Earlscourt  was  shaking  his  head  sorrow- 
fully, as  he  spoke.  "  We  were  all  getting  on  so  com- 
fortably. That  was  what  people  said  to  me — they 
said " 

"  Pardon  me,  I'm  a  parson,  therefore  I'm  not  par- 
ticular ;  but  I  can't  stand  the  way  your  good  religious 
people  express  themselves." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILIST1A.  55 

"  They  said,  '  It's  so  d pleasant  to  get  hold  of 

a  parson  who  can  be  trusted  in  the  pulpit — sermons 
with  a  good  healthy  moral  tone,  and  so  forth.  You 
might  bring  your  youngest  daughter  to  St.  Chad's 
in  the  certainty  that  she  would  hear  nothing  that 
would  make  her  ask  uncomfortable  questions  when 
she  got  home.'  It's  a  fact,  they  said  that  ;  and  now 
you  go  and  spoil  all.  The  bishop  will  have  a  word  to 
say  to  you  some  of  these  days,  my  lad.  He  ran  away 
to  the  Continent,  they  tell  me,  when  your  book  was 
published,  and  it's  perfectly  well  known  that  he  never 
runs  away  unless  things  look  serious.  When  the 
bishop  is  serious,  those  that  can't  swim  had  best  take 
to  the  boats." 

"  I'll  ask  you  for  a  seat  in  your  yacht,  Tommy. 
Meantime  kindest  regards  to  her  ladyship." 

"  Oh  !  by  the  way,  it's  not  true,  is  it,  that  the  girl 
has  thrown  you  over  on  account  of  the  book  ?  " 

For  an  instant  there  came  a  little  flush  to  the  face 
of  the  Rev.  George  Holland ;  then  he  shifted  his 
umbrella  from  one  hand  to  the  other,  saying : 

"  If  you  mean  Phyllis,  all  I  can  say  in  reply  is  that 
she  is  the  best  and  the  truest  girl  alive  at  present. 
I've  an  engagement  at  a  quarter-past  six." 

"  Well,  good-by.  It  was  my  missus  who  said  that  the 
girl  would  throw  you  over  on  account  of  that  book." 

"  Ah  !     Good-by." 

"  Honestly  speaking,  George,  old  man,  I  think 
you've  made  a  mistake  this  time.  People  don't  mind 
much  about  Jacob  and  Jonah  and  Jeremiah  and  the 
whole  job  lot  of  Sheenies  ;  but  they  do  mind  about 
Ruth.  Hang  it  all,  man  !  she  was  a  woman." 


56  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LIST1A. 

"Ah!  so  was  Jezebel,  and  yet — ah!  good-by.  I'll 
be  late  for  my  appointment." 

"  See  you  on  Sunday,"  said  the  earl,  with  a  broadish 
smile. 

And  so  he  did. 

So  did  the  largest  congregation  that  had  ever 
assembled  within  the  venerable  walls  of  St.  Chad's. 
They  heard  him  also,  and  so  did  the  dozen  reporters 
of  the  morning  papers  who  were  present — some  to 
describe,  with  the  subtle  facetiousness  of  the  news- 
paper reporter,  the  amusing  occurrences  incidental  to 
the  church  service  for  the  day,  and  others  to  take 
down  his  sermon  to  the  extent  of  half  a  column  to  be 
headed  "  The  Rev.  George  Holland  Defends  Him- 
self." One  reporter,  however,  earned  an  increase  in 
his  salary  by  making  his  headline,  "  The  Defense 
of  Holland."  It  was  supposed  that  casual  readers 
wovild  fancy  that  the  kingdom  of  Holland  had 
been  repelling  an  invader,  and  would  not  find  out 
their  mistake  until  they  had  read  half  through  the 
sermon. 

George  Holland  had  not  been  mistaken  when  he 
had  assumed  that  his  appearance  in  the  church  and  his 
sermon  this  day  would  attract  a  large  amount  of  atten- 
tion. As  a  matter  of  fact  the  building  was  crowded 
with  notable  persons :  Cabinet  ministers  (2),  judges  of 
the  superior  courts  (4),  company  promoters  (47), 
actors  and  actresses  (3),  music  hall  and  variety 
artists  (22),  Royal  Academician  (i).  Literature  was 
represented  by  a  lady  who  had  written  a  high-church 
novel,  and  fashion  by  the  publisher  who  had  produced 
it.  Science  appeared  in  the  person  of  a  professional 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  57 

thought-reader  (female).  These  were  all  strangers  to 
St.  Chad's,  though  some  of  them  could  follow  the  serv- 
ice quite  easily.  The  habitues  of  the  church  included 
several  peers,  the  members  of  a  foreign  embassy,  a  few 
outside  brokers,  quite  a  number  of  retired  officers  of 
both  services,  and  some  Members  of  Parliament  and 
the  London  County  Council. 

One  of  the  chaplains  of  the  bishop  occupied  a  seat 
in  the  aisle  ;  according  to  the  facetious  newspaper  he 
held  a  watching  brief. 

The  rector  was,  of  course,  oblivious  of  his  brilliant 
entourage.  He  could  not  even  tell  if  Phyllis  or  her 
father  were  present.  (As  a  matter  of  fact  both  were 
in  their  accustomed  seats  in  their  own  pew.)  He,  as 
usual,  took  but  a  small  part  in  the  ritual — as  Lord 
Earlscourt  once  remarked,  George  Holland  wasn't 
such  a  fool  as  to  keep  a  dog  and  do  the  barking  him- 
self. (It  has  already  been  stated  that  he  had  a  couple 
of  excellent  curates.)  But  the  sermon  was  preached 
by  himself,  as  indeed  it  usually  was  after  the  morning 
service. 

It  was  the  most  brilliant  of  all  his  efforts.  He  took 
as  his  text  the  words,  "  All  Scripture  is  given  by 
inspiration  and  is  profitable,"  and  he  had  no  difficulty 
in  showing  how  vast  was  the  profit  to  be  derived  from 
a  consideration  of  every  portion  of  the  Bible.  There 
was  no  more  profitable  portion  of  the  sacred  volume, 
it  appeared  to  him,  than  the  account  given  of  the  early 
history  of  the  Hebrew  race.  That  account  appealed 
as  an  object  lesson  to  all  nations  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.  It  allowed  every  people  to  see  the  course 
which  the  children  of  Israel  had  pursued  at  various 


5§  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

periods  of  their  existence  and  to  profit  by  such  obser- 
vation. The  Hebrews  were  a  terrible  example  to  all 
the  world.  If  they  were  slaves  when  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  that  was  their  own  fault.  Milton  had  magnifi- 
cently expressed  the  origin  of  slavery : 

"  He  that  hath  light  within  his  own  clear  breast 
May  walk  i'  the  noontide  and  enjoy  bright  day, 
But  he  that  hides  dark  deeds  and  foul  thoughts  .  .  . 
Himself  is  his  own  dungeon." 

The  bondage  of  Egypt  was,  he  believed,  self-im- 
posed. There  is  no  account  available,  he  said,  of  the 
enslavement  of  the  Children  of  Israel  by  the  Egyptians, 
but  a  careful  consideration  of  the  history  of  various 
peoples  shows  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  mistake 
being  made,  that  only  those  become  enslaved  who 
are  best  fitted  for  enslavement.  A  king  arose  that 
knew  not  Joseph — a  king  who  could  not  believe 
that  at  any  time  there  was  belonging  to  that  race  of 
strangers  a  man  of  supreme  intelligence.  The  Israel- 
ites bowed  their  heads  to  the  yoke  of  the  superior 
race,  the  Egyptians,  and  took  their  rightful  place  as 
slaves.  After  many  days  a  man  of  extraordinary 
intelligence  appeared  in  the  person  of  Moses.  A  pa- 
triot of  patriots,  he  gave  the  race  their  God — they 
seemed  to  have  lived  in  a  perfectly  Godless  condition 
in  Egypt ;  and  their  theology  had  to  be  constructed 
for  them  by  their  leader,  as  well  as  their  laws :  the 
laws  for  the  desert  wanderers,  and  a  decalogue  for  all 
humanity.  He  was  equal  to  any  emergency,  and  he 
had  no  scruples.  He  almost  succeeded  in  making  a 
great  nation  out  of  a  horde  of  superstitious  robbers. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILJSTIA.  59 

Had  he  succeeded  the  record  would  have  thrown 
civilization  back  a  thousand  years.  Happy  it  was  for 
the  world  that  the  triumph  of  crime  was  brief.  The 
cement  of  bloodshed  that  kept  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
together  for  a  time  soon  dissolved.  Captivity  fol- 
lowed captivity.  For  a  thousand  years  no  improve- 
ment whatever  took  place  in  the  condition  of  the 
people — they  had  no  arts ;  they  lived  in  mud  huts 
at  a  period  when  architecture  reached  a  higher  level 
than  it  had  ever  attained  to  previously.  When  the 
patriot  prophets  arose,  endeavoring  to  reform  them 
with  words  of  fire — the  sacred  fire  of  truth — they 
killed  them.  One  chance  remained  to  them.  They 
were  offered  a  religion  that  would  have  purified  them, 
in  place  of  the  superstition  that  had  demoralized  them, 
and  they  cried  with  one  voice,  as  everyone  who  had 
known  their  history  and  their  social  characteristics 
knew  they  would  cry,  "  Not  this  Man,  but  Barabbas." 
That  was  from  the  earliest  period  in  the  history  of  the 
race  the  watchword  of  the  Hebrews.  Not  the  man, 
but  the  robber.  All  that  is  good  and  noble  and  true 
in  manhood — the  mercy,  the  compassion,  the  self- 
sacrifice  that  are  comprised  in  true  manhood — they 
cast  beneath  their  feet,  they  spat  upon,  they  cruci- 
fied ;  but  all  of  the  Barabbas  in  man  they  embraced. 
Thus  are  they  become  a  hissing  in  the  earth,  and 
properly  so ;  for  those  who  hiss  at  the  spirit  which 
has  always  animated  Judaism  show  that  they  abhor 
a  thing  that  is  abhorrent.  "  All  Scripture  is  profit- 
able," continued  the  preacher,  "  and  practically  all  that 
is  referred  to  in  the  text  is  an  indictment  of  Judaism. 
The  more  earnestly  we  hold  to  this  truth  the  greater 


60  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

will  be  the  profit  accruing  to  us  from  a  consideration 
of  the  Scripture.  But  what  more  terrible  indictment 
of  the  Hebrew  systems  could  we  have  than  that  which 
is  afforded  us  in  the  record  that  the  father  of  the  race 
had  twelve  sons  ?  He  had.  But  where  are  ten  of 
them  now  ?  Swept  out  of  existence  without  leaving 
a  single  record  of  their  destruction  even  to  their  two 
surviving  brethren."  He  concluded  his  sermon  by 
stating  that  he  hoped  it  would  be  clearly  understood 
that  he  recognized  the  fact  that  in  England  those 
members  of  the  Hebrew  community  who  had  adopted 
the  methods,  the  principles,  the  truths  of  Christianity 
even  though  they  still  maintained  their  ancient  form 
of  worship  in  their  synagogues,  were  on  a  line  with 
civilization.  They  searched  their  scriptures  and  these 
scriptures  had  been  profitable  to  them,  inasmuch  as 
they  had  been  taught  by  those  scriptures  how  impos- 
sible it  was  for  that  form  of  superstition  known  as 
Judaism  to  be  the  guide  for  any  people  on  the  face  of 
the  earth. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"I  HOPE  THAT  YOU  WILL  NOT  EVENTUALLY  MARRY 
AN  INFIDEL." 

SOME  of  the  congregation  were  greatly  disappointed. 
They  had  expected  a  brilliant  and  startling  attack 
upon  some  other  Bible  personages  who  had  hitherto 
been  looked  on  with  respect  and  admiration.  But  the 
sermon  had  only  attacked  the  Jewish  system  as  a 
whole,  and  everyone  knows  that  there  is  nothing 
piquant  in  an  attack,  however  eloquent  it  may  be, 
upon  a  religious  system  in  the  abstract.  One  might 
as  well  find  entertainment  in  an  attack  upon  -  the 
Magnetic  Pole  or  a  denunciation  of  the  Precession  of 
the  Equinoxes.  No  one  cared,  they  said,  anything 
more  about  the  failure  of  the  laws  of  Moses  than  one 
did  about  such  abstractions  as  the  Earth's  Axis,  or 
the  Great  Glacial  Epoch.  It  was  quite  different  when 
the  characters  of  well-known  individuals  were  sub- 
jected to  an  assault.  People  could  listen  for  hours  to 
an  attack  upon  celebrated  persons.  If  Mr.  Holland's 
book  had  only  dealt  with  the  characteristics  of  the 
religion  of  the  Jews,  it  would  never  have  attracted 
attention,  these  critics  said.  It  had  called  for  notice 
simply  because  of  its  trenchant  remarks  in  regard  to 
some  of  those  Bible  celebrities  who,  it  was  generally 
understood,  were  considered  worthy  of  admiration. 

Why  could   Mr.  Holland  not  have  followed  up  the 


62  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

course  indicated  in  his  book  by  showing  up  some  of 
the  other  persons  in  the  Bible  ?  it  was  asked.  There 
were  quite  a  number  of  characters  in  the  Bible  who 
were  regarded  as  estimable.  Why  could  he  not  then 
have  followed  up  his  original  scheme  of  "  showing 
them  up?" — that  was  the  phrase  of  the  critics.  There 
was  Solomon,  for  instance.  He  was  usually  regarded 
as  a  person  of  high  intellectual  gifts  ;  but  there  was 
surely  a  good  deal  in  his  career  which  was  susceptible 
of  piquant  treatment.  And  then  someone  said  that 
Noah  should  have  had  a  chapter  all  to  himself,  also 
Lot ;  and  what  about  the  spies  who  had  entered 
Jericho?  Could  the  imagination  not  suggest  the 
story  which  they  had  told  to  their  wives  on  their 
return  to  the  camp,  relative  to  the  house  in  which 
they  had  passed  all  their  spare  time  ?  They  supposed 
that  Jericho  was  the  Paris  of  the  high  class  Jews  of 
those  days. 

Then  the  conversation  of  these  critics  drifted  on  to 
the  Paris  of  to-day,  and  the  sermon  and  its  lessons 
were  forgotten  as  easily  as  is  an  ordinary  sermon. 
But  all  the  same  it  was  plain  that  the  clergyman  had 
fallen  short  of  what  was  expected  of  him  upon  this 
occasion.  His  book  had  gone  far,  and  it  was  felt  that 
he  should  have  gone  one  better  than  his  book,  so  to 
speak.  Instead  of  that  his  sermon  had  been  one  to 
which  scarcely  any  exception  could  be  taken. 

But  the  bishop's  chaplain,  who  had  watched  at 
intervals  of  praying,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
rector  of  St.  Chad's  was  a  good  deal  cleverer  than 
the  majority  of  youngish  clergymen  who  endeavor  to 
qualify  for  prosecution.  It  may  be  unorthodox  to 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  63 

cross  one's  arms  with  the  regularity  of  clockwork  on 
coming  to  certain  words  in  the  service,  and  young 
clergymen  had  been  prosecuted  for  less  ;  but  it  was 
not  unorthodox  to  speak  evil  of  the  Jews — for  did  not 
the  Church  pray  for  the  Jews  daily?  and  can  anyone 
insult  a  man  more  than  by  praying  for  him — unless,  of 
course,  he  is  a  king,  in  which -case  it  is  understood 
that  no  insult  is  intended? 

The  bishop's  chaplain  prepared  a  report  of  the  ser- 
mon for  his  lordship,  pointing  out  its  general  harmony, 
broadly  speaking,  with  the  tenets  of  the  Church. 

Mr.  Ayrton  also  seemed  to  perceive  a  sort  of  clever- 
ness in  the  sermon.  There  was  nothing  in  it  that  was 
calculated  to  shock  even  the  most  susceptible  hearer. 
Indeed,  it  seemed  to  Mr.  Ayrton  that  there  was  a 
good  deal  in  it  that  was  calculated  to  soothe  the 
nerves  of  those  who  had  been  shocked  by  the  book. 
He  said  something  to  this  effect  to  his  daughter  as 
they  walked  homeward.  He  was  rather  anxious  to  find 
out  what  chance  George  Holland  had  of  being  restored 
to  his  daughter's  favor. 

But  Phyllis  was  firm  in  her  condemnation  of  the 
methods  of  Mr.  Holland. 

"  He  attacks  the  Jews  as  a  race  in  order  to  ridicule 
the  statement  in  the  Bible  that  they  were  God's  chosen 
people,  and  they  were,  you  know,  papa,"  she  said. 

"  They  took  so  much  for  granted  themselves,  at  any 
rate,"  said  her  father,  with  some  show  of  acquiescence. 

"  But  they  were,  and  they  are  to  be  restored  to  their 
own  land,"  said  Phyllis. 

"  Are  they,  my  dear?  I  should  like  to  see  the  pros- 
pectus of  that  enterprise." 


&4  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  You  are  mocking,  papa.  They  are  to  be  restored  ; 
it  says  so  in  the  Bible  quite  clearly." 

"  I  am  not  mocking,  Phyllis.  If  gold  is  discovered 
in  Palestine,  the  Jews  may  go  there  in  some  numbers  ; 
but,  take  my  word  for  it,  they  won't  go  otherwise. 
They  couldn't  live  in  their  own  land,  assuming  that 
it  is  their  own,  which-  is  going  pretty  far.  Palestine 
wouldn't  support  all  the  Jews  alive  at  present ;  it's  a 
wretched  country — I  know  it  well.  Besides,  they  don't 
want  to  return  to  it,  and,  furthermore,  we  couldn't 
spare  them." 

"  I  believe  in  the  Bible,  and  I  have  faith,"  said 
Phyllis  firmly. 

"  That's  right,"  said  her  father.  "  I  hope  you  may 
always  hold  to  both.  I  think  that  those  girls  who 
expect  to  be  regarded  as  advanced,  because  they  scoff 
at  the  Bible  and  at  faith,  are  quite  horrid.  I  also 
hope  that  you  will  not  eventually  marry  an  infidel." 

"That  would  be  impossible,"  said  Phyllis  firmly. 

"  Would  it?"  said  her  father.  "  There  is  a  stronger 
influence  at  work  in  most  of  us,  at  times,  than  religion. 
I  wonder  if  it  will  make  a  victim  of  you,  my  child, 
though  you  did  send  George  Holland  about  his 
business." 

"  I  don't  quite  know  what  you  mean,"  said  Phyllis, 
with  only  the  slightest  possible  flush. 

And  she  did  not  know  what  he  meant  until  six 
months  had  passed  ;  but  then  she  knew. 

Seeing  that  she  did  not  know  what  he  meant,  her 
father  thanked  Heaven  that  Heaven  had  given  him  a 
daughter  who  was  unlike  other  daughters.  He  prayed 
that  she  might  never  become  like  other  daughters. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  65 

He  thought  that  it  would  be  good  for  his  daughter  to 
remain  without  experience  of  those  overwhelming  pas- 
sions which  make  up  the  life  of  a  woman  and  a  man. 

Phyllis  went  out  a  good  deal  during  the  week,  and 
everywhere  she  found  herself  looked  at  with  interest  ; 
sometimes  she  found  herself  being  examined  through 
a  pince-nez  as  if  she  were  a  curious  specimen,  and  a 
woman  or  two  smiled  derisively  at  her.  She  did  not 
know  what  was  meant  by  their  curiosity — their  de- 
rision— until  one  day  an  old  lady  named  Mrs.  Haddon 
went  up  to  her  and  kissed  her,  saying : 

"  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  kiss  you,  my 
dear,  the  first  chance  I  had.  God  bless  you,  my  child  ! 
You  have  given  your  testimony  as  a  woman  should,  in 
these  days  of  scoffing  at  the  truth." 

"Testimony?"  said  Phyllis,  quite  puzzled.  Had 
not  her  father  felt  a  thrill  of  gratitude  on  reflecting 
that  she  had  none  of  the  qualities  of  the  prig  about 
her?  "Testimony?" 

"  You  have  testified  to  the  truth,  Miss  Ayrton,  and 
you  shall  have  your  reward.  You  have  shown  that  the 
truth  is  more  to  you  than — than  love — the  love  of 
man — all  that  women  hold  sweet  in  life.  You  are 
right,  Miss  Ayrton  ;  and  all  true  women  must  love  and 
respect  you." 

Phyllis  turned  a  very  brilliant  color,  and  kept  her 
eyes  fixed  on  the  parquet  pattern  of  the  floor. 

The  dear  old  lady  said  a  good  deal  more  to  her,  all 
in  praise  of  her  act  of  having  given  Mr.  Holland  his 
conge9 on  account  of  his  having  written  that  shockingly 
unorthodox  book. 


66  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

By  the  end  of  the  week  Phyllis  Ayrton  was  looked 
on  as  quite  as  much  a  heroine  for  having  given  Mr. 
Holland  his  congJ,  as  Mr.  Holland  was  a  hero  for  hav- 
ing braved  the  bishop  in  writing  the  book.  She  wore 
her  laurels  meekly,  though  she  had  been  rather  em- 
barrassed when  a  ray  of  intelligence  appeared  among 
the  dark  sayings  of  the  dear  old  lady.  She  could  not 
help  wondering  how  all  the  world  had  .become  pos- 
sessed of  the  knowledge  that  she  had  said  good-by  to 
her  lover.  She  considered  if  it  were  possible  that  Mr. 
Holland  had  spread  abroad  the  account  of  her  ill- 
treatment  of  him — he  would  naturally  allude  to  it  as 
ill-treatment.  The  quick  judgment  of  Ella  Linton  had 
enabled  her  to  perceive  how  valuable  to  Mr.  Holland 
was  the  incident  of  his  rejection  by  Phyllis.  As  a 
beginning  of  his  persecution,  its  importance  could 
scarcely  be  overestimated.  But  it  did  not  take  Phyllis 
long  to  reassure  herself  on  this  matter.  It  was,  of 
course,  Ella  who  had  given  the  incident  publicity. 
She  had  done  so  for  two  reasons  :  first,  in  order  that 
her  little  afternoon  At  Home  might  have  additional 
luster  attached  to  it  by  the  presence  of  a  young  woman 
who  had,  in  these  days  of  a  marriage  market  over- 
stocked with  young  women  (and  old  women,  for  that 
matter),  thrown  over  an  eligible  man  for  conscience' 
sake ;  and  secondly,  in  order  that  her  At  Home  might 
have  additional  luster  attached  to  it  from  the  presence 
of  the  man  who  allowed  himself  to  be  thrown  over  by 
a  delightful  girl  rather  than  refrain  from  publishing 
what  he  believed  to  be  the  truth. 

Mrs.  Linton  achieved  both  the  objects  which,  as  a 
good  hostess,  she  had  in  view.  Mr.  Holland  put  in 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  67 

an  appearance  in  one  of  Mrs.  Linton's  big  drawing 
rooms,  and  so  did  Phyllis  Ayrton. 

Everyone  admitted  that  only  a  woman  of  the  social 
capacity — some  people  called  it  genius — of  Mrs.  Lin- 
ton  could  accomplish  such  a  feat  as  the  bringing  into 
the  same  room  two  persons  who  had  given  unmis- 
takable evidence  of  possessing  a  conscience  apiece — 
the  woman  who  had  sacrificed  the  man  for  conscience' 
sake,  and  the  man  who  had  sacrificed  the  woman  under 
the  same  influence.  It  was  a  social  triumph,  beyond 
doubt. 

People  talked  in  whispers  of  conscience,  the  advan- 
tages and  the  disadvantages  of  its  possession,  and  the 
consensus  of  opinion  was  of  its  being  quite  appropriate 
in  regard  to  a  clergyman,  and  that  it  was  not  alto- 
gether out  of  place  on  the  part  of  a  spinster,  provided 
that  she  had  counteracting  virtues  ;  but,  on  the  whole, 
it  was  perhaps  wiser  to  leave  the  conscience  with  the 
Nonconformists. 

Phyllis  did  not  see  George  Holland  until  she  had 
got  halfway  up  the  first  of  Mrs.  Linton's  rooms.  She 
did  not  hear  her  friend  Ella  say  to  someone,  in  a  low 
voice  of  apprehension  : 

"  For  Heaven's  sake,  keep  them  apart !  They  are 
just  the  sort  of  people  to  greet  each  other  quite  cor- 
dially ;  and  if  they  do,  no  one  here  will  believe  that 
their  engagement  is  off.  People  here  don't  under- 
stand how  a  delicate  conscience  works." 

That  was  what  Ella  murmured  to  a  man  who  had 
been  invited  in  order  that  he  might  make  himself 
generally  useful.  She  gave  him  his  instructions  too 
late,  however.  Before  she  had  quite  completed 


68  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LIST1A. 

her  greeting  of  Phyllis,  Mr.  Holland  was  beside 
them. 

He  had  not  forced  himself  forward  with  any  meas- 
ure of  persistency;  no  one  seemed  to  notice  any 
movement  on  his  part  until  he  had  shaken  hands  with 
Phyllis,  and  was  chatting  with  her  and  Mrs.  Linton 
quite  pleasantly — much  too  pleasantly  for  a  man  with 
a  conscience,  someone  said  later  in  the  afternoon ; 
but  that  was  someone  who  wanted  to  talk  to  Phyllis 
himself. 

People  watched  her  when  she  suffered  herself  to  be 
gradually  withdrawn  from  the  center  of  the  room  to 
a  seat  that  chanced  to  be  vacant,  just  behind  the  open 
door  of  the  conservatory.  Could  it  be  possible,  they 
asked  one  another,  that  she  had  indeed  given  his  dis- 
missal to  Mr.  Holland  the  previous  week?  Why,  they 
were  chatting  together  as  pleasantly  as  they  had  ever 
chatted.  Had  not  the  people  who  talked  so  glibly 
of  conscience  and  its  mysterious  operations  spoken  a 
little  too  soon?  Or  had  the  quarrel  been  patched  up  ? 
If  so,  which  of  the  two  had  got  rid  of  the  conscience 
that  had  brought  about  the  original  rupture  ? 

These  questions  were  answered  at  divers  places  by 
divers  persons,  all  the  time  that  George  Holland  and 
Phyllis  Ayrton  remained  side  by  side  at  the  entrance 
to  the  conservatory,  at  the  further  end  of  which  a 
vocal  quartette  party  sang  delightfully — delightfully ; 
sufficiently  loud  to  enable  all  the  guests  who  wanted  to 
talk  to  do  so  without  inconvenience,  and  at  the  same 
time  not  so  loud  as  to  become  obtrusive.  It  is  so  seldom 
that  a  quartette  party  manage  to  hit  this  happy  medium, 
people  said.  They  generally  sing  as  if  they  fancy  that 


PHYLLIS  OF  PIIILISTIA.  69 

people  come  together  to  hear  them,  not  remembering 
that  the  legitimate  object  of  music  at  an  At  Home  is 
to  act  as  an  accompaniment  to  the  conversation. 

When  Phyllis  was  leaving  the  house  half  an  hour 
later,  a  man  was  just  entering  the  first  drawing  room 
— a  man  with  a  face  burnt  to  the  color  of  an  old 
mezzotint. 

He  looked  at  her  for  a  moment  as  he  passed  her,  for 
her  face  had  suddenly  lighted  up,  as  such  a  face  as 
hers  does  upon  occasions. 

The  man  could  scarcely  fail  to  perceive  that  she 
knew  his  name  was  Herbert  Courtland. 

But  then  he  was  accustomed  to  be  recognized  by 
women  as  well  as  men  in  every  part  of  Europe,  since 
he  had  returned  from  New  Guinea  with  the  tail  feath- 
ers of  the  meteor-bird,  which  were  now  being  made 
into  a  fan  for  Mrs.  Linton. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"MY   FATHER   HAS     HIS    IDEAS    ON     WHAT'S    CALLED 
REALISM." 

THE  last  rumble  of  applause  had  died  away  at  the 
Parthenon  Theater,  but  the  audience  were  leaving 
very  slowly  ;  they  wished  to  linger  as  long  as  possible 
within  the  atmosphere  of  the  building  ;  though,  like 
the  atmosphere  of  many  sacred  places,  that  of  the 
Parthenon  was,  just  at  that  time,  a  trifle  unsavory. 
The  first  performance  of  the  drama  of  "  Cagliostro  " 
had  just  taken  place,  and,  as  the  first  nights  at  the 
Parthenon  are  invariably  regarded  as  the  most  exclu- 
sive functions  of  the  year,  the  stalls  and  boxes  had 
been  crowded.  And  the  distinction  which  in  Mayfair 
and  Belgravia  attaches  to  those  who  have  been  in  the 
boxes  and  stalls  on  Parthenon  first  night  is  not  greater 
than  that  which,  in  Bloomsbury  and  Camden  Town, 
accrues  to  those  who  have  occupied  places — not  nec- 
essarily seats — in  the  other  parts  of  the  house.  It  is 
understood,  too,  that  the  gooti  will  of  Bloomsbury 
and  Camden  Town  is  much  more  valuable  to  a  play 
than  the  best  wishes  of  Mayfair  and  Belgravia. 

The  gracious  manager  had  made  his  customary 
speech  of  thanks, — for  everything  produced  at  the 
Parthenon  was  a  success, — and  while  the  general  audi- 
ence were  moving  away  very  reluctantly,  some  distin- 
guished men  and  women  followed  the  guidance  of  a 

70 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  71 

strong  Irish  brogue  as  a  flock  follows  a  bell-wether, 
through  a  door  that  led  to  the  stage.  Here  the  great 
actor  and  the  ever-charming  lady  who  divided  with 
him  the  affections  of  West  as  well  as  East,  received 
their  guests  and  their  guests'  congratulations  in  such 
a  way  as  made  the  guests  feel  that  the  success  was 
wholly  due  to  their  good  will. 

Mrs.  Linton,  who  was  a  personage  in  society, — her 
husband  had  found  a  gold  mine  (with  the  assistance  of 
Herbert  Courtland)  and  she  had  herself  written  a  book 
of  travels  which  did  not  sell, — had  brought  Phyllis  with 
her  party  to  the  theater,  and  they  had  gone  on  the 
stage  with  the  other  notabilities,  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  performance.  George  Holland,  having  become  as 
great  a  celebrity  as  the  best  of  them  during  that  pre- 
vious fortnight,  had  naturally  received  a  stall  and  an 
invitation  to  the  stage  at  the  conclusion  of  the  per- 
formance. He  had  not  been  of  Mrs.  Linton's  party, 
but  he  lay  in  wait  for  that  party  as  they  emerged  from 
their  box. 

Another  man  also  lay  in  wait  for  them,  and  people — 
outsiders — nudged  one  another  in  the  theater  as  the 
passers  down  Piccadilly  had  nudged  one  another,  whis- 
pering his  name,  Herbert  Courtland.  Others — they 
were  not  quite  such  outsiders — nudged  one  another 
when  Mrs.  Linton  laid  down  her  new  feather  fan  on 
the  ledge  of  the  box.  It  was  possibly  the  loveliest 
thing  that  existed  in  the  world  at  that  moment.  No 
artist  had  ever  dreamed  of  so  wonderful  a  scheme  of 
color — such  miracles  of  color — combinations  in  every 
feather  from  the  quill  to  the  spider-web-like  fluffs  at 
the  tips,  each  of  which  shone  not  like  gold  but  like 


72  PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1STIA. 

glass.  It  was  well  worth  all  the  nudging  that  it  called 
forth. 

But  when  Mrs.  Linton  had  picked  it  up  from  the 
ledge,  beginning  to  oscillate  it  in  front  of  her  fair  face, 
the  nudging  ceased.  People  looked  at  the  thing  with 
eyes  wide  with  astonishment,  but  with  lips  mute. 

A  more  satisfactory  evening  she  had  never  spent, 
Mrs.  Linton  felt ;  and  now  the  fan  was  hanging  down 
among  the  brocaded  flowers  of  her  dress,  making  them 
look  tawdry  as  she  left  the  box,  and  noticed  how  at 
least  two  men  were  lying  in  wait  for  her  party.  There 
was,  however,  a  frankness  in  Herbert  Courtland's 
strategy  which  George  Holland's  did  not  possess.  Mr. 
Courtland  was  looking  directly  at  her  ;  Mr.  Holland 
was  pretending  to  be  engrossed  in  conversation  with  a 
man  in  one  of  the  end  stalls. 

She  lifted  a  finger  and  Courtland  went  to  her  side. 
The  difficulties  of  the  jungle  along  the  banks  of  the 
Fly  River  were  trifling  compared  with  the  obstacles  he 
had  to  overcome  in  obeying  her. 

"  I  had  no  idea  that  you  would  be  here,"  she  said. 

"  Where  else  should  I  be  ?  "  he  said,  in  so  low  a  tone 
as  to  be  heard  only  by  her. 

"  We  are  so  glad,"  said  Mrs.  Linton.  "  I  want  to 
present  you  to  my  dearest  friend,  Phyllis  Ayrton." 

"  A  woman  !  "  said  he. 

"  Not  yet.  She  has  never  met  a  man.  She  will  to- 
night," said  Ella.  Then  she  turned  to  Phyllis,  who 
was  walking  beside  Lord  Earlscourt.  "  Come  here, 
Phyllis,"  she  said;  "you  are  the  only  person  in 
London  who  doesn't  yet  know  Mr.  Herbert  Courtland. 
This  is  Mr.  Courtland." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  73 

Thus  it  was  that  Phyllis  went  upon  the  stage  of  the 
Parthenon  by  the  side  of  Herbert  Courtland- instead  of 
by  the  side  of  George  Holland  ;  and  the  little  laugh 
that  Mrs.  Linton  gave  was  due  to  her  careful  observa- 
tion of  the  latter's  face  when  he  perceived,  as  he  did 
in  spite  of  the  engrossing  nature  of  his  conversation 
with  his  friend  in  the  end  stall,  how  his  designs  had 
been  defeated  by  her  tactics.  She  would  not  have 
minded  having  Herbert  Courtland  with  her  for  the 
hour  they  might  remain  at  the  theater,  but  she  had 
made  up  her  mind  that  it  was  not  to  Phyllis'  advan- 
tage that  Mr.  Holland  should  continue  by  her  side  in 
public  after  she  had  given  him  his  dismissal. 

She  also  perceived,  with  even  greater  gratification, 
that  Herbert  Courtland  was  looking  nearly  as  dissatis- 
fied with  the  result  of  her  tactics  as  George  Holland. 
If  he  had  looked  pleased  at  being  by  the  side  of 
Phyllis  when  he  expected  to  be  with  her — Ella — what 
would  life  be  worth  to  her  ? 

But  if  he  was  dissatisfied  at  being  with  Phyllis  in- 
stead of  Mrs.  Linton,  he  did  not  consider  that  any 
reason  for  neglecting  the  former.  He  wondered  if  she 
had  any  choice  in  sandwiches — of  course  she  had  in 
champagne.  His  curiosity  was  satisfied,  and  Phyllis 
was  amply  provided  for. 

"  You  are  Mrs.  Linton's  dearest  friend,"  he  remarked 
casually,  as  they  leaned  up  against  the  profile  of  the 
Church  scene  in  "  Cagliostro,"  for  they  were  standing  in 
the  "  wings  " — to  be  exact — on  the  O.  P.  side. 

"  She  is  my  dearest  friend,  at  any  rate,"  said  Phyllis. 

"  You  were  not  at  school  together.  She  is  four  or 
five  years  older  than  you." 


74  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  Only  three.  When  she  got  married  she  seemed  to 
me  to  be  almost  venerable.  Three  years  seemed  a 
long  time  then." 

"  But  now  you  fancy  that  you  have  formed  a  right 
idea  of  what  is  meant  by  three  years  ?  " 

"  Well,  a  better  idea,  at  any  rate." 

"  You  are  still  a  good  way  off  it.  But  if  you  have 
formed  a  right  estimate  of  a  woman's  friendship — 

"That's  still  something,  you  mean  to  say?  But 
why  did  you  stop  short,  Mr.  Courtland  ?" 

Phyllis  was  looking  up  to  his  face  with  a  smile  of 
inquiry. 

"  I  was  afraid  that  you  might  think  I  was  on  the  way 
to  preach  a  sermon  on  the  text  of  woman's  friendship. 
I  pulled  myself  up  just  in  time.  I'm  glad  that  I  didn't 
frighten  you." 

"  Oh,  no  ;  you  didn't  frighten  me,  Mr.  Courtland.  I 
was  only  wondering  how  you  would  go  on — whether 
you  would  treat  the  topic  sentimentally  or  cynically." 

"And  what  conclusion  did  you  come  to  on  the 
subject  ?  " 

"  I  know  that  you  are  a  brave  man — perhaps  the 
bravest  man  alive.  You  would,  I  think,  have  treated 
the  question  seriously — feelingly." 

He  laughed. 

"  The  adoption  of  that  course  implies  courage  cer- 
tainly. All  the  men  of  sentimentality — which  is  some- 
thing quite  different  from  sentiment,  mind  you — have 
taken  to  writing  melodrama  and  penny  novelettes. 
You  didn't  hear  much  sentimentality  on  this  stage 
to-night,  or  any  other  night,  for  that  matter." 

"  No  ;  it  would  have  sounded  unreal.     A  Parthenon 


PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA.  75 

audience  would  resent  what  they  believed  to  be  a  false 
note  in  art ;  and  a  Parthenon  audience  is  supposed  to 
be  the  concentration  of  the  spirit  of  the  period  in 
thought  and  art ;  isn't  it  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  I'm  half  a  savage.  But  I  like  to 
think  the  best  of  a  Parthenon  audience  ;  you  and  I 
formed  part  of  that  concentration  to-night — yes,  I  like 
to  think  the  best  of  it.  I  suppose  we  know — we,  the 
Parthenon  audience,  I  mean — what  our  feelings  are  on 
the  art  of  acting — the  art  of  play-writing." 

"  I  shouldn't  like  to  have  to  define  my  feelings  at  a 
moment's  notice." 

"  One  must  make  a  beginning,  and  then  work  up 
gradually  to  the  definition." 

"  For  instance " 

"  Well,  for  instance,  there's  something  that  people 
call  realism  nowadays." 

"  My  father  has  his  ideas  on  what's  called  realism," 
Phyllis  laughed.  "  '  Realism  in  painting  is  the  ideal 
with  a  smudge.' " 

"  I  should  like  to  hear  what  you  think  of  it  ?  " 

He  also  laughed  sympathetically. 

"  Oh,  I  only  venture  to  think  that  realism  is  the 
opposite  to  reality." 

"  And,  so  far  as  I  can  gather,  your  definition  is  not 
wanting  in  breadth — no,  nor  in  accuracy.  Sentimen- 
tality is  the  opposite  to  sentiment." 

"  That  is  a  point  on  which  we  agreed  a  moment  ago. 
My  father  says  that  sentiment  is  a  strong  man's  con- 
cealment of  what  he  feels,  while  sentimentality  is  a 
weak  man's  expression  of  what  he  doesn't  feel." 

"  And  the  Parthenon  audience — you  and  I — laugh  at 


7 6  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

the  latter — that  is,  because  we  have  practiced  some 
form  of  athletics.  The  bicycle  has  given  its  coup  de 
grace  to  sentimentality.  That  man  over  there  with 
the  head  and  face  like  a  lion's,  and  that  woman  whose 
face  is  nature  illuminated,  have  long  ago  recognized 
the  shallowness  of  sentimentality — the  depths  of  senti- 
ment. We  could  not  imagine  either  of  them  striking 
a  false  note.  They  have  been  the  teachers  of  this 
generation — the  generation  to  which  you  belong. 
Great  Heavens !  to  think  that  for  so  many  years 
human  passion  should  be  banished  from  art,  though 
every  line  of  Shakspere  is  tremulous  with  passion  ! 
Why,  the  word  was  absolutely  banished  ;  it  was  re- 
garded as  impure." 

"  I  know  that — I  was  at  a  boarding  school.  The 
preceptresses  regarded  as  impure  everything  that  is 
human." 

"  Whereas,  just  the  opposite  is  the  case  ?  " 

"  I  didn't  say  that,  Mr.  Courtland." 

"  You  could  scarcely  say  it.  I  am  only  beginning 
to  think  it,  and  I  have  lived  among  savages  for  years. 
That  man  with  the  lion's  face  has  not  feared  to  deal 
with  passion.  All  actors  who  have  lived  since  Garrick 
have  never  gone  further  than  to  illustrate  passion  in 
the  hands  of  a  man  ;  but  that  lion-man,  whose  stage 
we  are  now  standing  on,  shows  us  not  the  passion  in 
the  hands  of  a  man,  but  the  man  in  the  hands  of  the 
passion.  The  man  who  tears  the  passion  to  tatters  is 
the  robustious  periwig-pated  fellow  ;  the  actor,  who 
shows  us  the  man  torn  in  tatters  by  the  passion,  is  the 
supreme  artist.  I  am  no  authority  on  mpdern  litera- 
ture ;  but  I  must  confess  that  I  was  astonished  at  the 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  77 

change  that  a  few  years  have  brought  about.  I  was 
in  a  proper  position  for  noticing  it,  having  been  prac- 
tically without  books  for  two  years." 

"  Is  it  a  change  for  the  better,  do  you  think,  Mr. 
Courtland  ?  " 

"  I  feel  certain  that  it  is  for  the  better.  I  refer,  of 
course,  only  to  the  books  of  those  real  investigators — 
real  artists.  I  refer  to  the  fountain-heads,  not  to  the 
hydrants  laid  down  by  the  water  companies  at  the  end 
of  about  ten  miles  of  foul  piping.  I  don't  like  the 
product  of  the  hydrants.  I  like  the  springs,  and,  how- 
ever natural  they  may  be,  I  don't  find  anything  impure 
in  them.  Why  I  love  the  Bible  is  because  it  is  so 
very  modern." 

"  You  don't  think,  then,  that  it  is  yet  obsolete,  Mr. 
Courtland  ?  " 

"  No  book  that  deals  so  truly  with  men  and  women 
can  ever  be  obsolete,  the  fact  being  that  men  and 
women  are  the  same  to-day  as  they  were  ten  thousand 
years  ago,  perhaps  ten  million  years  ago,  though  I'm 
not  quite  so  sure  of  that.  The  Bible,  and  Shaks- 
pere,  and  Rofudingding,  a  New  Guinea  poet,  who  ate 
men  for  his  dinner  when  he  had  a  chance,  and,  when  he 
had  finished,  sang  lyrics  that  stir  the  hearts  of  all  his 
fellow-islanders  to  this  day, — he  lived  a  hundred  years 
ago, — dealt  with  men  and  women  ;  that  is  why  all  are 
as  impressive  to-day  as  they  were  when  originally 
composed.  Men  and  women  like  reading  about  men 
and  women,  and  it  is  becoming  understood,  nowa- 
days, that  the  truth  about  men  and  women  can  never 
be  contemptible." 

"  Ah,  but  how  do  we  know  that  it  is  the  truth  ?  " 


78  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  Therein  the  metaphysician  must  minister  to  him- 
self. I  cannot  suggest  to  you  any  test  of  the  truth,  if 
you  have  none  with  you.  Everyone  capable  of  pro- 
nouncing a  judgment  on  any  matter  must  feel  how 
truthfully  the  personages  in  the  Bible  have  been 
drawn." 

"  Yes ;  the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God." 

"  I  believe  that  it  is,  most  certainly.  That  profound 
wisdom  ;  that  toleration  of  the  weaknesses  of  men  ; 
that  sympathy  with  men,  who  cannot  fathom  the 
mysteries  of  life,  and  the  struggle  for  life  of  all  things 
that  love  life  ;  that  spirit  I  call  God,  and  I  don't  think 
that  a  better  name  has  been  found  for  it." 

"  It — for  it  ?  You  think  of  God  as  merely  a  force 
of  nature  ?  " 

"  Just  the  contrary.  God  is  the  spirit  that  lives  in 
warfare  with  nature.  Great  Heavens  !  isn't  that  the 
truth  of  which  the  whole  Bible  is  the  allegory  ?  Na- 
ture and  nature's  laws  constitute  the  Devil.  God  is 
the  opposing  Force.  It  is  a  law  of  nature  to  kill  off 
the  weak,  to  crush  that  which  has  fallen  in  the  struggle. 
It  is  God  who  helps  the  weak — who  helps  the  feeble." 

"  But  merely  a  force?" 

"  Oh,  I  have  no  private  opinion  on  that  part  of  the 
question.  I  am  not  like  that  modern  philosopher 
who  fancied  he  had  solved  the  whole  problem  by 
spelling  God  with  a  small  g.  But  don't  you  think  that 
we  have  gone  quite  far  enough  in  our  exchange  of 
confidence  for  a  first  meeting?  You  are  what  the 
Italians  call  simpatica — that  is,  more  than  merely  sym- 
pathetic. You  look  at  one,  and  lead  one  on  to  confide 
in  you  as  one  does  not  confide  in  most  girls.  You  are 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  79 

a  thoroughly  dangerous  young  woman,  Miss  Ayrton, 
though  you  are  Mrs.  Linton's  dearest  friend.  By  the 
way,  can  you  make  her  confide  in  you  ?  " 

There  seemed  to  be  a  measure  of  curiosity,  not  to 
say  anxiety,  in  the  tone  of  this  inquiry. 

"  Well,  she  makes  me  confide  in  her.  I  wonder  if 
that  is  just  the  same  thing,"  said  Phyllis. 

"  It's  not  exactly  the  same  thing,"  said  he.  "  But 
it's  the  proper  course  for  dearest  friends  to  adopt 
toward  each  other.  For  the  maintenance  of  a  firm 
friendship  between  any  two  persons,  only  one  should 
confide ;  the  other  should  be  strictly  the  confidante. 
By  the  way,  I  wonder  what  is  the  average  duration  of 
the  dearest  friendship  between  two  women." 

"Why  should  it  have  any  limits?"  said  Phyllis 
gravely.  "  What  is  the  duration  of  the  friendship 
between  two  men  ?  " 

"  It  mostly  depends  on  when  the  woman  makes  her 
appearance,"  said  he,  with  a  laugh. 

"Ah  !  So  that Ah,  never  mind.  Ella  was  my 

dearest  friend  before  Mr.  Linton  put  in  an  appearance." 

"  And  he  was  mine  before  she  put  in  an  appearance," 
said  he. 

"  I  didn't  know  that,"  said  Phyllis. 

"  There,  you  see,  is  my  contention  borne  out,"  said 
he.  "  You  are  the  one  who  confides  ;  she  is  the  one 
who  receives  the  confidences,  and  respects  them,  I'm 
sure.  I  hope  that  you  will  do  the  same,  Miss  Ayrton. 
Don't  let  anyone  know  that  I  confided  in  you  all  that 
I  think  on  the  subject  of  the  old  Adam  and  the  new 
Eve." 

"  No  one  except  Ella  Linton,  and  you  know  that  I 


8o  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

can  keep  nothing  from  her  if  we  are  to  remain  dearest 
friends.  Perhaps  she  knows  already  the  limits  of  your 
belief,  Mr.  Courtland." 

"  She  does — she  does." 

At  that  moment  Ella  Linton  came  up  with  Lord 
Earlscourt. 

"  Has  Mr.  Courtland  been  telling  you  all  about  the 
bird  of  paradise  ? "  she  asked  of  Phyllis,  while  she 
waved  the  tail  feathers  of  the  loveliest  of  the  birds  of 
paradise  before  her  face. 

"The  bird? — not  the  bird"  laughed  Phyllis. 

"But  the  topic  was  paradise ?"  Ella  joined  in  the 
laugh — yes,  to  some  extent. 

"  I  talked  of  Adam — the  old  one  of  that  name,"  said 
Mr.  Courtland. 

"  And  Eve — the  new  one  of  that  name,"  said  Phyllis. 

"  Theology  is  in  the  air  ! "  cried  Ella.  "  Even  the 
stage  of  a  theater  is  not  free  from  the  taint.  It  must 
be  the  case  of  Mr.  Holland.  Where  is  Mr.  Holland, 
by  the  way,  Lord  Earlscourt  ?  " 

"  I  haven't  seen  him  for  some  time.  He  must  have 
gone  away.  I'm  not  Mr.  Holland's  keeper,  thank 
Heaven  !  "  said  Lord  Ea'rlscourt,  with  heartfelt  devout- 
ness. 

"  Now  you  know  that  everyone  holds  you  account- 
able for  what  he  has  done  !  "  said  Ella. 

"  Then  that's  just  where  everyone  makes  a  mistake," 
said  he.  "  Great  Lord  !  is  it  your  idea  of  British  jus- 
tice to  persecute  the  wrong  man  ?  Why  doesn't  the 
bishop  do  his  duty?  What  do  we  pay  him  for?" 

"  We  won't  abandon  our  charity  at  the  call  of 
theology,"  said  Ella. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  81 

"  Theology — represented  by  Lord  Earlscourt,"  said 
Mr.  Courtland. 

"  You  don't  know  how  I've  been  abused  during  the 
past  fortnight,  indeed  you  don't,"  moaned  Lord  Earls- 
court.  "  Why,  there's  my  own  wife,  she  abused  me 
like  a  cab-driver  because  George  Holland  had  been 
with  us  on  the  platform  when  the  Chinese  teetotalers 
came  here  to  protest  against  the  public  houses  in  Eng- 
land ;  she  says  that  his  backsliding  will  put  back  the 
cause  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Then  there  are  the  other 
churchwardens ;  they  look  on  me  as  if  I  had  been 
making  a  suggestion  to  raffle  the  sacred  plate.  George 
Holland  has  a  run  for  his  money,  but  I've  had  no  fun 
out  of  it." 

"  It  does  seem  hard,"  said  Courtland.  "  But  it's  plain 
that  the  case  calls  for  persecution,  and  why  not  perse- 
cute you  ?  Someone  must  be  persecuted,  you'll  admit." 

"  Then  why  the " 

"  I  thought  that  your  good  old  Bunyip  would  look 
in  on  us  before  long,"  said  Courtland.  "  There's  no 
possibility  of  discussing  delicate  points  in  theology 
without  him." 

"  I  think  we  had  better  go  home,"  said  Ella. 

"  We  must  have  some  consideration  for  our  host," 
said  Courtland.  "  We  didn't  all  play  the  part  of  Cagli- 
ostro  to-night." 

During  the  movement  of  her  circle  and  the  adjust- 
ment of  wraps,  preparatory  to  the  delivery  of  a  vale- 
dictory word  of  congratulation  to  the  great  actor,  Ella 
said  in  a  low  tone  to  Herbert  Courtland : 

"  Cagliostro  ?  No ;  we  didn't  all  play  the  part ; 
but — well,  Cagliostro  was  a  weaver  of  spells." 


82  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA 

There  was  a  pause  before  he  said  : 

"  Yes,  but  the  art  did  not  die  with  him.  He  had  a 
daughter  to  whom  he  taught  his  art." 

"  Not  that  I  ever  heard  of,"  said  she.  "  What  do 
you  think  of  Phyllis  Ayrton?" 

"  I  think  that  she  is  the  dearest  friend  of  my  dearest 
friend,"  he  replied. 

"  And  I  should  like  her  to  become  the  dearest 
friend  of  my  dearest  friend." 

"  That  would  be  impossible,"  he  said. 

Then  the  felicitous  valedictory  word  was  said  to  the 
great  actor  and  actress,  and  Mrs.  Linton's  carriage 
received  Phyllis.  Lord  Earlscourt  took  a  seat  in  Mr. 
Courtland's  hansom. 

"What  do  you  think  about  Mr.  Courtland?" 
inquired  Ella  of  her  dearest  friend,  as  they  lay  back 
with  their  heads  very  close  together. 

There  was  a  long  pause  before  Phyllis  replied  : 

"  I  really  don't  know  what  I  think  about  him.  He 
is,  I  suppose,  the  bravest  man  alive  at  present." 

"What?  Is  that  the  result  of  your  half  hour's  chat 
with  him  ?  " 

"  Oh,  dear,  no !  but  all  the  same,  it's  pleasant  for  a 
girl  to  feel  that  she  has  been  talking  to  a  brave  man. 
It  gives  one  a  sense  of — of — is  it  of  being  quite 
safe?" 

"Good  gracious,  no!  just  the  opposite — that  is 

Oh,  you  don't  understand." 

"  No,  I  don't." 

"  Never  mind.     Tell  me  what  he  talked  about  ?  " 

"  Oh,  everything !     God." 

"  I  know  that  it  was  in  the  air.     He  has  ideas,   I 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  83 

believe.  He  never  talked  on  that  topic  to  me.  I 
hope  you  found  him  to  be  quite  sound,  theologi- 
cally." 

"It  seems  rather  funny,  doesn't  it?"  said  Phyllis; 
"  but  I  really  don't  think  that  when  I  was  listening  to 
him  I  considered  for  a  moment  whether  he  was  sound 
or  the  opposite  in  his  views." 

"  Funny?  It  would  have  been  rather  funny  if  you 
had  done  that,"  laughed  Ella.  "  The  question  that  a 
healthy  girl — and  you  are  a  healthy  girl,  Phyllis — asks 
herself  after  talking  to  such  a  man  as  Herbert  Court- 
land  is  not,  Is  his  theology  sound?  What  healthy 
girl  cares  the  fraction  of  a  farthing  about  the  theology 
of  a  man  with  a  face  like  Herbert  Courtland's  and  arms 
like  Herbert  Courtland's?  You  talked  with  him  for 
half  an  hour,  and  then  come  to  me  and  say  that  you 
suppose  he  is  the  bravest  man  alive  in  the  world. 
That  was  right — quite  right.  That  is  just  what  every 
healthy  girl  should  say.  We  understand  a  man's  thews 
and  sinews  ;  we  likewise  understand  what  bravery  in  a 
man  is,  but  what  do  we  know,  or,  for  that  matter,  care 
about  his  theology,  whether  it  is  sound  or  the  opposite? 
Nothing.  We  don't  even  care  whether  he  has  any 
theology  or  not." 

"  Good  gracious,  Ella !  one  would  fancy  that  you 
thought " 

"  Thought  what  ?  " 

"  I  don't  quite  know.  You  see  I  met  Mr.  Court- 
land  quite  casually,  just  as  I  met  a  dozen  men  at 
various  places  during  the  week.  Why  should  you 
question  me  more  closely  about  him  than  about  the 
dozen  other  men  ?  He  only  talked  a  little  more 


84  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA. 

widely,  and  perhaps  wildly.  His  bravery  is  no  more  to 
me  than  his  theology." 

"  Of  course  it  isn't,  Phyllis.  But  there  was  the  case 
of  George  Holland " 

"  That  is  very  different,  Ella.  I  had  engaged  myself 
to  marry  George  Holland.  It  would  be  impossible  for 
me  to  marry  any  man  who  had  shown  his  contempt 
for — for  everything  that  I  regard  as  sacred." 

"  I  believe  it  would,  if  you  didn't  love  that  man. 

But  if  you  loved  the  man Oh,  when  you  come  to 

know  what  it  means  to  love  you  will  understand  all. 
A  woman  before  she  loves  is — what  is  she,  an  egg 
before  it  is  hatched  ?  That  sounds  ridiculous.  Better 
say  a  green  chrysalis  before  it  breaks  into  a  butterfly  ; 
for  the  transition  comes  at  once.  Theology !  Oh, 
my  Phyllis,  haven't  you  read  in  history,  true  his- 
tory— novels  written  by  men  who  know  us  and  how 
we  were  created,  and  why — haven't  you  read  what 
women  do  when  they  truly  love  a  man  ?  How  they 
fling  every  consideration  to  the  winds :  heaven — 
home — husband — God — Mrs.  Grundy  ?  Theology  ! 
Ah,  you  are  a  healthy  girl.  You  never  cared  a  scrap 
for  George  Holland.  You  were  glad  when  the  excuse 
presented  itself  in  order  to  throw  him  over." 

"  Yes  ;  I  believe  that  is  quite  true." 

Ella's  cry  of  surprise,  and  her  laugh  that  followed, 
shocked  her  companion,  and  feeling  that  this  was  the 
case,  the  one  who  laughed  hastened  to  make  her 
apologies. 

"  Don't  be  annoyed  with  me,  dear,"  she  cried.  "  But 
I  really  couldn't  help  that  laugh  when  I  thought  of 
your  earnestness  the  week  before  last.  Then,  you  will 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  85 

remember,  you  were  in  great  pain  because  of  the 
heterodoxy  of  George  Holland.  Didn't  I  tell  you  at 
that  time  that  you  had  never  loved  him  ?  You  were 
ready  to  assure  me  that  you  had,  and  that  you  were 
making  a  great  sacrifice  to  your  principles  ?  " 

"  I  remember  very  well,"  said  Phyllis,  with  a  sound 
that  was  not  far  removed  from  a  sob. 

"  Ah,  you  are  a  puzzle  to  yourself,  you  poor  little 
chrysalis,"  said  Ella,  putting  the  meteoric  feathers 
playfully  down  upon  the  serious  face  of  Phyllis — its 
seriousness  was  apparent  beneath  the  light  of  the 
carriage  lamp.  "  No,  don't  make  the  attempt  to 
explain  anything  to  me.  Don't  try  to  reconcile  your 
frankness  now  with  your  pretense  then,  because  you'll 
certainly  make  a  muddle  of  it,  and  because  no  such 
attempt  is  necessary  to  be  made  to  me.  I  know 
something  of  the  girl  and  her  moods — not  a  great  deal, 
perhaps,  but  enough  to  prevent  my  doing  you  an 
injustice.  You  are  perfectly  consistent,  my  Phyllis." 

"  Oh,  consistent  ?  " 

"  Perfectly  consistent  with  your  nature  as  a  girl.  It 
is  the  nature  of  a  girl  to  change  with  every  wind  that 
blows.  It  is  only  the  female  prig  who  acts  consistently 
under  all  circumstances.  In  a  world  the  leading  of 
which  is  its  men,  inconsistency  is  the  best  nature  of  a 
healthy  girl  made  to  be  loved  by  men.  One  doesn't 
sneer  at  the  weathercock  because  one  hour  it  points  to 
the  north  and  the  next  to  the  east.  'Tis  its  nature 
to.  'Tis  our  nature  to  change  with  every  breeze  of 
man  that  bears  down  on  us.  That's  why  they  love  us 
and  detest  the  prigs.  Here  we  are  at  your  house.  I 
hope  you  don't  keep  your  maid  up  for  you.  I  would 


86  PHYLLIS   OF  PHILIST1A. 

scorn  to  keep  a  girl  out  of  her  bed  for  the  sake  of 
brushing  my  hair.  Good-night,  dear,  and  dream  of 
the  paradise  that  awaits  you — a  paradise  in  which 
there  are  birds  to  be  shot,  birds  of  paradise  to  make 
feather  fans  for  women  who  hold  them  to  their  bosoms 
one  minute,  and  the  next  dispose  of  them  to  Mr.  and 
Mme.  Abednego  with  last  season's  opera  wrap. 
There's  a  parable  for  you  to  sleep  upon." 

"And  you — you?"  cried  Phyllis. 

"  Oh,  as  for  me,  I'll,  I'll— well,  I  think  I'll  put  my 
meteor  fan  on  the  pillow  beside  my  own  to-night. 
I'm  still  newfangled  with  my  toy  and — well,  I'm  a 
woman." 

At  this  instant  the  carriage  pulled  up  at  Mr.  Ayr- 
ton's  hall  door  and  the  footman  jumped  down  from 
the  box  to  run  up  the  steps  and  ring  the  bell. 

"  Good-night,"  said  Phyllis.  "  I  enjoyed  my  even- 
ing greatly,  and  the  drive  home  best  of  all." 

Ella  Linton's  laugh  was  smothered  among  the  del- 
icate floss  of  the  feathers  which  she  held  up  to  her 
face. 


CHAPTER  X. 

"  IT  IS  THE   PRICE   OF   BLOOD." 

PHYLLIS  had  a  good  deal  to  think  of  after  she  had 
sat  for  half  an  hour  with  her  father  in  the  room  where 
they  worked  together  for  the  discomfiture  of  the 
opposite  party,  and  had  given  him  some  account  of 
the  representation  of  the  play  at  the  Parthenon.  Her 
father  was  delighted  to  find  her  in  high  spirits.  So 
many  people  come  back  from  the  theater  looking 
glum  and  worn  out,  yawning  and  mumbling  when  asked 
what  they  have  seen  and  what  it  had  all  been  about. 
Phyllis  was  not  glum,  nor  did  she  mumble.  She  was 
able  to  describe  scene  after  scene,  and  more  than  once 
she  sprang  from  her  seat,  carried  away  by  her  own 
powers  of  description,  and  began  to  act  the  bits  that 
had  impressed  her — bits  the  force  of  which  could  only 
be  understood  when  described  with  gestures  and  pretty 
posturing. 

Her  father  thought  he  had  never  seen  anything  so 
pretty  in  his  life.  (What  a  girl  she  was,  to  be  sure,  to 
have  so  easily  recovered  from  the  effects  of  that  ter- 
rible ordeal  through  which  she  had  passed — having  to 
dismiss  at  a  moment's  notice  the  man  whom  she  had 
promised  to  marry!)  He  had  certainly  never  seen 
anything  so  fascinating  as  her  pretty  posturing,  with 
the  electric  lights  gleaming  over  her  white  neck  with 

87 


88  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILlSTlA. 

its  gracious  curves,  and  her  firm  white  arms  from  which 
her  gloves  had  been  stripped. 

It  had  been  his  intention  to  describe  to  her  a  scene 
which  had  taken  place  in  the  House  of  Commons  that 
night — a  scene  of  Celt  and  Saxon  mingling  in  wild 
turmoil  over  a  question  of  neglected  duty  on  the  part 
of  a  Government  official :  not  the  one  who  was  subse- 
quently decorated  by  the  sovereign  a  few  days  after 
his  neglect  of  duty  had  placed  the  country  in  jeopardy, 
and  had  precipitated  the  downfall  of  the  ministry  and 
the  annihilation  of  his  party  as  a  political  factor ;  not 
this  man,  but  another,  who  had  referred  to  Trafalgar 
Square  as  the  private  thoroughfare  of  the  crown. 
The  scene  had  been  an  animated  one,  and  Mr.  Ayrton 
had  hoped  to  derive  a  good  deal  of  pleasure  from 
describing  it  to  his  daughter ;  but  when  he  had 
listened  to  her,  and  watched  her  for  a  few  minutes,  he 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  absurd  for  him 
to  make  an  effort  to  compete  with  her.  What  was  his 
wretched  little  story  of  Parliamentary  squalor  com- 
pared with  these  psychological  subtleties  which  had 
interested  his  daughter  all  the  evening? 

He  listened  to  and  watched  that  lovely  thing,  over- 
flowing with  the  animation  that  comes  from  a  quick 
intelligence — a  keen  appreciation  of  the  intelligence  of 
the  great  artists  who  had  interpreted  a  story  which 
thrilled  the  imagination  of  generation  after  generation, 
and  he  felt  that  Parliament  was  a  paltry  thing.  Parlia- 
ment— what  was  Parliament?  The  wrangle  of  politi- 
cal parties  over  a  paltry  issue.  It  had  no  real  life  in  it ; 
it  had  nothing  of  the  fullness  and  breadth  of  the  matters 
that  interested  such  people  as  had  minds — imagination. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  89 

"You  are  tired,"  she  cried  at  last.  "It  is  thought- 
less of  me  to  keep  you  out  of  your  bed.  You  have 
had  a  weary  night,  I  am  sure.  Was  it  the  Irish  again, 
or  the  horrid  teetotalers?" 

"It  was  both,  my  dear,"  said  he.  "Phyllis,"  he 
added  solemnly,  "  an  Irish  teetotaler  is  a  fearful 
thing." 

"  You  shall  forget  all  the  intemperate  teetotalers  in 
a  beautiful  sleep,"  said  she,  putting  her  arms  around 
his  neck.  "  Good-night,  papa  !  It  was  so  thoughtless 
of  me  to  keep  you  up.  It  is  one  o'clock." 

"  It  appears  to  me  that  you  are  the  one  who  should 
be  ready  to  succumb,"  said  her  father.  "  I  had  noth- 
ing to  stimulate  my  imagination.  Practical  politics 
has  not  yet  discovered  a  good  working  reply  to  the 
man  who  calls  his  fellow-man  a  liar,  so  the  political 
outlook  is  not  very  cheering." 

"  That  is  what  is  greatly  needed  :  a  satisfactory 
retort — verbal,  of  course — to  that  every-day  asser- 
tion." 

"  It  has  become  the  most  potent  influence  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  during  the  past  year  or  two;  and 
the  worst  of  the  matter  is  that  the  statement  is  nearly 
always  correct." 

"  Then  there  is  all  the  greater  need  for  a  modus 
vivendi " — she  had  an  ample  acquaintance  with  the 
jargon  of  diplomacy.  "  I  don't  despair  of  Parliament 
being  able  to  suggest  an  efficient  retort." 

"  Parliament :  two  ragamuffins  quarreling  up  an 
entry  over  a  rotten  orange.  Good-night,  my  child  ! " 

She  was  at  last  in  her  own  room :  an  apartment 
of  gracious-tinted  fabrics  and  pink  satin  panels ;  of 


90  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

tapestried  sofas  made  by  French  artists  before  the 
lovely  daughter  of  Maria  Teresa  went  to  her  death. 
She  switched  on  the  lights  in  the  candle  sconces,  and 
threw  herself  down  upon  one  of  the  sofas.  Her  the- 
ater wrap  and  fan  she  had  laid  over  a  chair. 

It  was  not  to  the  drama  which  she  had  seen  superbly 
acted  at  the  Parthenon  that  her  thoughts  went  out ; 
but  to  the  words  which  her  dearest  friend  had  spoken 
when  driving  back  from  the  theater. 

What  words  were  they  ? 

She  could  not  recollect  them  now  ;  but  she  was  still 
conscious  of  the  impression  which  they  had  produced 
upon  her  while  they  were  being  spoken.  That  impres- 
sion was  that  up  to  that  instant  all  the  issues  of  her 
life  had  been  unworthy  of  a  moment's  consideration. 
She  had  taken  what  she  believed  to  be  a  deep  interest' 
in  many  matters  during  the  five  years  that  she  had 
been  the  head  of  her  father's  house.  She  had,  she 
knew,  been  of  the  greatest  help  to  her  father  in  his 
political  life,  not  merely  turning  her  memory  to  good 
account  in  discovering  the  incautious  phrases  in  the 
speeches  of  the  men  who  were  foolish  enough  to  be 
his  opponents,  but  actually  advising  him,  when  he 
asked  her,  on  many  matters  about  which  the  news- 
papers had  been  full.  Then  she  had  taken  an  active 
part  in  more  than  one  of  those  "  movements  "  which 
became  the  topic  of  a  London  season  until  compelled 
by  an  invisible  but  all-powerful  authority  to  move 
on  and  make  way  for  the  next  new  thing.  She  had 
moved  with  every  movement,  and  had  proved  her 
capacity  to  control  herself  when  the  movement  became 
uncontrollable.  And  then  she  had  thought  how 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  91 

worthy  a  position  in  life  would  be  that  of  the  wife  of 
the  rector  of  a  church  like  St.  Chad's. 

That  idea  had  remained  with  her,  as  has  already 
been  said,  for  some  months,  until,  to  be  exact  in 
regard  to  the  date,  the  other  young  women,  whom  she 
had  been  watching  with  interest,  had  bought  their 
brilliant  blouses  with  the  newest  and,  consequently, 
most  abnormal  sleeves,  casting  aside  the  sober-hued 
bodices  which  they  had  worn  in  hope. 

How  paltry  were  all  these  aspirations,  these  under- 
takings ! 

That  was  what  was  dinning  in  her  ears  all  the  time 
Ella  had  been  talking  in  the  carriage. 

But  why,  why,  why  should  all  her  previous  interests, 
including  the  consideration  of  the  questions  of  ortho- 
doxy and  the  other  thing,  seem  so  ridiculously  small 
while  Ella  was  speaking  ? 

That  was  the  question  which  puzzled  her.  Had 
Ella  shown  her  a  way  to  something  better,  something 
higher,  something  better  worthy  of  the  aspiration  of 
a  woman  ?  She  could  not  say  that  that  had  been  the 
drift  of  her  large  discourse.  What  she  had  said  had 
actually  been  puzzling  in  its  vagueness,  its  daring 
images — all  images  are  vague  ;  its  allegories — all  alle- 
gories are  indefinite. 

And  yet — and  yet — and  yet 

With  a  motion  of  impatience  Phyllis  sprang  to  her 
feet.  After  a  pause  she  went  to  a  little  satin-wood 
cabinet  which  she  had  turned  into  a  bookshelf,  and 
took  out  her  Bible.  She  had  never  slept  a  night  for 
years  without  reading  a  chapter ;  and  in  order  to  avert 
the  possibility  of  her  own  feelings  or  fancies  of  the 


92  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

moment  making  any  invidious  distinction  between  the 
various  component  parts  of  a  book  which  is  profitable 
in  every  line,  she  had  accustomed  herself  to  read  the 
chapters  in  consecutive  order  from  The  Genesis  to 
The  Revelation.  Sometimes,  when  she  found  herself 
face  to  face  of  a  night  with  a  purely  genealogical 
chapter,  Phyllis  of  Philistia  had  difficulty  in  crushing 
down  her  unworthy  desire  to  turn  to  some  chapter 
that  seemed  to  her  frail  judgment  to  contain  words  of 
wider  comfort  to  the  children  of  men  than  a  genealog- 
ical tree  of  the  Children  of  Israel ;  but  she  had  never 
yielded  to  so  unworthy  an  impulse.  Who  was  she  that 
she  should  suggest  that  one  part  of  the  Sacred  Book 
was  calculated  to  be  more  profitable  than  another  ? 
Was  it  not  all  the  Bible  ? 

She  had  plowed  her  way  through  the  slough  of 
Hebrew  names  upon  these  occasions,  and  the  blessing 
of  the  words  had  been  borne  to  her  in  the  form  of  a 
sweet  sleep. 

Her  chapter  for  this  night  was  that  which  describes 
the  campaign  of  David,  during  which  he  and  his  hosts 
were  besieged  in  their  earthworks,  and  how  the  three 
mighty  men  had  made  a  sortie  through  the  camp  of 
the  enemy  in  order  to  obtain  for  their  leader  a  cup  of 
water. 

She  continued  the  chapter  to  the  end,  but  all  through 
it  those  words  were  ringing  in  her  ears  : 

"  It  is  the  price  of  blood  ;  it  is  the  price  of  blood." 

And  as  she  knelt  down  beside  her  bed,  her  bare 
white  feet  peeping  out  from  beneath  the  drapery  of 
her  white  night-dress,  in  a  posture  that  would  have 
made  the  most  human  atheist  believe  in  the  beauty 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  93 

of  devotion,  those  words  were  still  in  her  ears  :  "  The 
price  of  blood  ;  the  price  of  blood." 

Good  Heavens  !  How  could  she  carry  that  feather 
fan  ?  How  could  Ella  Linton  hold  it  up  to  her  face — 
hold  her  face  down  to  it,  flutter  its  fairy  fluff  upon  her 
cheeks  ?  It  was  the  price  of  blood.  Herbert  Court- 
land  had  run  a  greater  risk  to  obtain  those  feathers 
than  David's  mighty  men  had  run  to  draw  the  water 
from  the  well.  She  had  heard  all  about  the  insa- 
tiable savagery  of  the  natives  of  New  Guinea.  Para- 
dise ?  Who  had  named  tho^e  birds  the  birds  of  para- 
dise ?  She  recollected  how  the  feathers  which  Ella 
had  whirled  about  had  held  in  the  center  of  every 
wonderful  disc  of  rich  purple,  edged  with  unequal  radi- 
ating lines  of  gold,  a  single  spot  of  brilliant  crimson, 
with  a  tiny  star  of  silver  in  the  center.  The  effect  of 
the  sunlight  glinting  over  this  combination  on  the 
thousand  feathers  that  swept  after  the  bird  had  caused 
Herbert  Courtland,  the  first  white  man  who  had  seen 
this  glory  of  glories,  to  call  it  the  meteor-bird.  But 
those  crimson  drops :  were  they  not  the  blood  of  the 
men  who  had  perished  miserably  while  endeavoring  to 
wrest  its  marvels  from  the  tropical  forests  of  that  great 
island  ? 

Paradise  ? 

And  Ella  could  treat  those  feathers  as  though  they 
had  been  plucked  from  a  tame  pheasant  ?  And  now 
she  was  lying  in  her  bed  with  the  fan  on  the  pillow 
beside  her  ! 

How  could  she  do  it  ?  That  was  what  the  girl 
asked  herself  while  she  lay  awake  on  her  own  bed. 
Would  Ella  not  see,  on  the  white  pillow  beside  her 


94  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

head,  the  crimson  stains  of  the  feathers  that  had  been 
snatched  out  of  the  dripping  red  hand  of  death,  by  the 
man  who  had  not  feared  to  grapple  with  death  itself 
in  that  hell  which  people  called  a  paradise  ? 

But  the  man,  the  man  who  had  gripped  death  by 
the  throat  and  had  torn  the  feathers  from  his  grisly, 
fleshless  fingers, — her  imagination  was  very  vivid  at 
night,  especially  after  reading  a  thrilling  chapter  of 
Hebrew  massacre, — that  man  had  talked  with  her 
upon  such  trifles  as  books  and  plays,  strange  pageants 
enacted  among  paper  and  canvas  unrealities  of  life. 
She  had  actually  been  leaning  against  some  of  these 
painted  scenes  while  the  man  who  had  fought  his  way 
into  the  depths  of  that  forest  which  no  white  man  but 
himself  had  yet  penetrated, — the  man  whose  life  had, 
day  by  day  and  night  by  night,  been  dependent  upon 
the  accuracy  of  his  rifle  aim, — had  talked  with  her. 

That  was  really  the  sum  of  all  her  thoughts.  She  did 
not  try  to  recall  the  words  that  he  had  spoken  ;  it  was 
simply  the  figure  of  the  man  who  had  been  before  her 
that  now  remained  on  her  mind.  She  did  not  stop  to 
think  whether  or  not  he  had  spoken  as  a  man  with 
intellect  would  speak ;  whether  he  had  spoken  as  a 
man  whose  orthodoxy  was  beyond  suspicion  would 
speak.  The  question  of  his  orthodoxy,  of  his  intellect 
(which  may  be  just  the  opposite),  did  not  occur  to  her. 
All  she  felt  was  that  she  had  been  talking  face  to  face 
with  a  man. 

So  that  the  result  of  her  evening's  entertainment, 
after  she  had  read  her  inspiring  chapter  in  the  Bible 
and  said  her  bedside  prayer,  she  might  have  defined  in 
precisely  the  same  words  as  she  had  spoken  to  her 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  95 

friend  Ella  when  Ella  had  asked  her,  immediately  on 
entering  the  carriage,  what  she  thought  of  Herbert 
Courtland. 

"  He  is  the  bravest  man  in  the  world  at  present." 
She  did  not  fall  asleep  for  a  considerable  time. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

"  I'M   AFRAID   THAT  I    MUST  HAVE   PRINCIPLE  ON  MY 

SIDE." 

"  IT  is  quite  ridiculous,  besides  being  untrue,"  said 
Phyllis,  when  she  had  read  the  article  in  the  newspaper 
to  which  her  father  called  her  attention  one  morn- 
ing, a  week  after  the  criticism  on  "  Cagliostro  "  had 
appeared.  The  article  was  headed  : 

"DYNAMITE  VERSUS  EVANGELIZATION," 

and  it  came  out  in  a  weekly  paper  devoted  to  the  in- 
terests of  Nonconformists. 

"  It  is  with  the  deepest  regret  that  we  have  to  call 
the  attention  of  our  readers  and  the  public  [the  article 
ran]  to  the  series  of  charges  brought  by  the  Revs. 
Joseph  Capper  and  Evans  Jones,  the  eminent  pioneers 
of  the  Nonconformist  Eastern  Mission,  against  a  gen- 
tleman to  whom  a  considerable  amount  of  honor  is 
just  now  being  given  by  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society,  the  Ethnological  Institute,  the  Ornithological 
Association,  and  other  secular  organizations,  on  account 
of  his  exploration  in  the  Island  of  New  Guinea.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  we  allude  to  Mr.  Herbert 
Courtland.  The  position  which  has  been  occupied  for 
several  years  by  the  two  distinguished  ministers  whose 
self  sacrifice  in  endeavoring  to  spread  the  Light  through 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTfA.  97 

the  dark  places  of  the  tropical  forests  of  a  savage  land 
is  well  known  to  the  subscribers  to  the  N.  E.  M.,  pre- 
cludes the  possibility  of  a  mistake  being  made  in  this 
matter,  and  yet  they  declare  in  a  letter  which  we  pub- 
lish this  morning  that  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Court- 
land  pursued  his  so-called  explorations  in  the  forests 
which  line  the  banks  of  the  Fly  River  has  practically 
made  impossible  all  attempts  at  mission  work  in  that 
region.  In  several  directions  it  is  not  denied  that  Mr. 
Courtland  entered  into  friendly  relations  with  some 
native  tribes  ;  but  instead  of  endeavoring  to  make  the 
poor  benighted  creatures  acquainted  with  the  Truth, 
he  actually  purchased  as  slaves  over  a  hundred  of  them 
to  aid  him  in  penetrating  the  Kallolu  forest,  where,  it 
will  be  remembered,  he  succeeded  in  shooting  the 
much  illustrated  meteor-bird,  as  well  as  several  other 
specimens  which  will  delight  the  members  of  the 
Ornithological  Association  rather  than  professing 
Christians.  Our  distinguished  correspondents  state, 
and  we  have  no  room  to  doubt  their  word,  that  Mr. 
Courtland  purchased  his  slaves  by  a  promise  to  assist 
the  head  man  of  their  tribe  against  his  enemies  be- 
longing to  another  tribe — a  promise  which  he  only 
too  amply  fulfilled,  the  result  being  an  indiscriminate 
slaughter  of  savages  who,  though  avowed  cannibals, 
might  eventually  have  embraced  the  truths  of  Noncon- 
formity. The  elephant  rifles  of  the  explorer  did  their 
deadly  work  only  too  efficiently ;  but  we  trust  that,  for 
his  own  sake,  Mr.  Courtland  will  be  able  to  bring  for- 
ward trustworthy  evidence  to  rebut  the  suspicion  of  his 
having  upon  at  least  one  occasion  induced  even  the 
friendly  natives  to  believe  that  he  possessed  the  power 


98  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA. 

of  the  Deity  to  perform  miracles,  and  upon  another 
occasion  of  having  used  dynamite  against  them  by 
which  hundreds  were  destroyed  in  cold  blood.  It  is 
the  evil  influences  of  such  irresponsible  men  as  Mr. 
Courtland,  whose  ill-directed  enterprise  we  cannot  in 
justice  to  him  refrain  from  acknowledging,  that  retard 
the  efforts  of  those  noble  pioneers  of  Nonconformity 
who  have  already  made  such  sacrifices  for  the  cause, 
and  who  rejoice  at  the  difficulties  with  which  they  find 
themselves  beset.  We  understand  that  a  question  will 
be  put  to  the  Minister  for  the  Annexation  Department 
in  the  House  of  Commons  toward  the  latter  end  of  the 
week,  on  the  subject  of  the  alleged  excesses  of  the  most 
recent  explorer  (so-called)  of  New  Guinea — excesses 
which  if  committed  in  Bulgaria  or  Armenia,  or  even 
Ireland,  would  have  called  for  an  expression  of  the 
horror  of  Christian  Europe ;  and  we  may  mention  that 
subscriptions  on  behalf  of  the  Revs.  Joseph  Capper 
and  Evans  Jones  will  be  received  at  the  office  of  this 
paper  to  enable  them  to  substantiate  the  truth  of  their 
statements." 

"  It  is  quite  ridiculous,  besides  being  untrue,  papa," 
cried  Phyllis ;  "  and  I  hope  that  you  will  not  fail  to 
take  his  part  and  show  the  falsehood  of  such  accusa- 
tions. Could  anything  be  more  absurd  than  that 
about  the  slaves ?  Slaves!  Dynamite!" 

"  Leading  up  to  subscriptions — don't  forget  that," 
said  her  father.  "  If  subscriptions  are  to  be  forth- 
coming, they  must  be  got  up.  Traffic  in  human  flesh, 
insults  to  aborigines,  Siberia,  the  conversion  of  the 
Jews — all  these  appeal  directly  to  the  pockets  of  the 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  99 

Great  English  People.  Any  one  of  them  will  consti- 
tute an  excellent  peg  on  which  to  hang  an  appeal 
to  the  pocket.  Those  two  distinguished  pioneers  of 
— well,  shall  we  say  civilization  or  Nonconformity? — 
understand  their  business,  my  dear." 

"It  is  no  part  of  their  business  to  try  and  hold  a 
brave  man  up  to  the  execration  of  everyone." 

"  I'm  not  so  sure  of  that.  The  technicalities  of  the 
mission  field  are  not  so  apparent  all  at  once.  The 
Vineyard — well,  the  system  of  vine-culture  of  some  of 
the  organizations  is  a  trifle  obscure." 

Phyllis  became  impatient. 

"  The  House  of  Commons — a  question  is  to  be  asked 
in  the  House.  Then  you  must  ask  another,  papa, 
showing  the  nonsense  of  the  first." 

"  Heavens  above  !  Why  should  I  be  dragged  into 
the  quarrel,  if  it  is  a  quarrel,  of  Herbert  Courtland  on 
the  one  hand  and  the  Reverends  Joseph  Capper  and 
what's  the  other,  Smith — no,  Jones — Evans  Jones?  I 
shouldn't  wonder  if  he  is  of  Welsh  extraction." 

"  You  will  surely  not  stand  passively  by  and  hear  a 
brave  man  slandered.  That  would  be  unlike  you,  papa. 
No;  you  are  bound  to  protest  against  the  falsehood." 

"  Am  I  indeed  ?  Why  ?  Because  the  slandered 
man,  if  he  is  slandered,  is  the  friend  of  my  daughter's 
friend  ?  " 

"  Exactly — that's  quite  sufficient  for  you  to  go  upon 
— that  and  the  falsehood." 

"  If  it  is  a  falsehood." 

"  If— oh,  papa— if  ?  " 

"  If  I  have  your  personal  guarantee  that  the  state- 
ments are  unsubstantiated " 


100  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1L1STIA. 

"  Now,  you  are  beginning  to  jest.  I  cannot  jest  on 
so  serious  an  issue.  Think  of  it — slaves — dynamite  !" 

"  Both  excellent  words  for  missionaries  to  send  home 
to  England — almost  equal  to  opium  and  idols  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  mission-box." 

Phyllis  was  solemn  for  a  moment;  then  she  burst 
into  a  merry  laugh  that  only  wanted  a  note  of  merri- 
ment to  be  delightful.  Her  father  did  not  miss  that 
note.  He  was  thinking  of  another  phrase. 

"  Now,  why  shouldn't  you  say  that  or  something  like 
that,  my  father?"  cried  the  girl.  "Something  to  set 
the  House  laughing  before  the  Minister  of  the  Annex- 
ation Department  has  had  time  to  reply  ?  You  can 
do  it,  you  know." 

"  I  believe  I  could,"  said  Mr.  Ayrton  thoughtfully. 
"  But  why,  my  child  ;  why  ?  " 

"  Why  ?  Why  ?  Oh,  if  one  only  said  good  things 
when  there  was  a  reason  for  saying  them,  how  dull  we 
should  all  be  !  Any  stick  for  a  dog — any  jest  is  good 
enough  for  the  House  of  Commons." 

"  Yes ;  but  suppose  it  is  inferred  that  I  am  not  on 
the  side  of  the  missionaries  ?  What  about  Hazel- 
borough  ?  " 

Hazelborough  was  the  constituency  which  Mr. 
Ayrton  represented  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

"  My  dear  father,  where  would  you  be  if  you  couldn't 
steer  through  the  Hazelborough  prejudices  now  and 
again  ?  You  can  always  say  something  so  good  as  to 
make  people  not  care  which  way  it  cuts." 

"  What  ?  Oh,  Phyllis !  I'm  ashamed  of  you.  Be- 
sides, the  people  of  Hazelborough  have  got  to  be 
extremely  sensitive.  They  have  caught  the  Noncon- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  IOI 

formist  Conscience.  The  bacillus  of  the  Nonconform- 
ist Conscience  was  rampant  a  short  time  ago,  and  it 
has  not  yet  been  stamped  out.  I'm  afraid  that  I  must 
have  principle  on  my  side — some  show  of  principle,  at 
any  rate — not  so  wide  as  a  church  door  or  so  deep  as 
a  well,  but  still " 

"  And  you  will,  too,  papa.  I'll  see  Ella  and  get  her 
to  find  out  from  Mr.  Courtland  what  is  the  truth." 

"  Well,  perhaps  it  mightn't  be  wise  to  rush  into 
extremes  all  at  once !  I  wouldn't  insist  on  the  truth, 
if  I  were  you.  What's  the  House  of  Commons  that  it 
should  be  cockered  up  with  the  truth  ?  All  that  is 
needed  is  enough  to  go  on  with.  An  electro-plating, 
of  veracity  is  in  keeping  with  the  economic  tendencies 
of  the  age." 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  truth,"  cried  Phyllis,  with- 
out giving  the  cynicism  of  her  father  the  tribute  of  a 
smile.  "  Mr.  Courtland  would,  I  know,  be  incapable 
of  doing  anything  unworthy  of — of " 

"  Let  us  say  an  explorer,"  suggested  her  father. 
He  knew  that  the  word  which  was  in  her  mind  was 
Englishman.  She  only  checked  herself  when  her 
imagination  caused  her  to  perceive  the  average  silk- 
hatted  man  with  his  tongue  in  his  cheek  at  the  utter- 
ance of  the  phrase.  "  Let  us  say  '  unworthy  of  an 
explorer,'  "  repeated  her  father ;  "  that  is  an  elastic 
phrase." 

Phyllis  was  irritated. 

"  I  have  talked  with  him,"  she  said  a  trifle  coldly. 

"  Yes,"  said  her  father,  "  once." 

"  I  should  have  said  that  I  know  Ella." 

"  And  yet  Ella  is  a  woman  !  " 


102  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  Oh,  the  charges  are  too  ridiculous !  Slaves ! 
What  nonsense  !  We  all  know  what  slavery  is.  Well, 
where  are  his  slaves  now?  If  he  only  hired  the 
natives  for  a  month  or  two  they  were  only  servants, 
not  slaves.  The  thing  is  manifestly  ridiculous." 

"  Then  why  should  we  trouble  ourselves  with  the 
attempt  to  rebut  it  ?  " 

"  Because  so  many  people  are  idiots  nowadays," 
cried  Phyllis  warmly.  "  Because,  no  matter  how 
ridiculous  a  charge  which  is  brought  against  a  distin- 
guished person  may  be,  some  people  will  be  found 
ready  to  believe  in  its  truth.  Never  mind  ;  I'll  find 
out  the  truth  ;  I'll  go  to  Ella." 

"  The  fountain-head  indeed,"  said  Mr.  Ayrton. 
"  When  in  search  of  the  truth,  go  to  a  woman." 

"  I  will,  at  any  rate,"  said  Phyllis. 

And  she  went  thither. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"  DYNAMITE — SLAVE-DEALING — MASSACRES- 
ARMENIA  !  " 

PHYLLIS,  of  course,  knew  when  to  go  to  Ella  with 
the  certainty  of  finding  her  at  home.  At  the  luncheon 
hour  Mrs.  Linton  was  always  visible  to  the  three 
friends  whom  she  had  within  the  confines  of  Mayfair. 
She  considered  herself  blessed  among  women  in  the 
numerical  strength  of  her  friendships  ;  and  so  perhaps 
she  was  ;  she  had  three. 

She  was  in  one  of  her  drawing  rooms — the  one  that 
was  decorated  with  water  colors  set  in  fluted  panels  of 
yellow  silk — not  the  one  with  the  pink  blinds  so  be- 
loved by  those  of  her  visitors  who  had  reached  an  age 
to  regard  a  pink  light  as  a  woman's  best  friend.  She 
was  wearing  a  new  gown  which  Phyllis,  in  spite  of  her 
enthusiasm  on  behalf  of  a  brave  man  maligned,  found 
admirable  both  as  regards  fabric,  fit,  and  fashion. 

Then  followed  a  word  or  two  of  commendation  of 
the  artists  who  had  been  concerned  in  its  production. 
They  had  not  been  absurd  about  the  sleeves,  and  they 
had  not  vetoed  the  sweep  of  lace — it  was  about  half  a 
yard  wide — which  the  person  who  occupied  so  insig- 
nificant a  position  as  is  usually  allocated  to  the  mere 
wearer  of  the  gown  had  suggested  for  the  bodice. 
The  gown  was  an  unequivocal  success,  and  had  Ella 
seen  the  disgraceful  article  which  had  appeared  in  the 


104  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILlSTtA. 

Spiritual  Aneroid  on  the   subject  of  Mr.   Courtland's 
explorations  ? 

Ella  smiled  a  slow  smile,  as  the  question  joined  the 
congratulation  without  the  lapse  of  a  breath. 

"The  Spiritual  Aneroid?  Who  is  the  Spiritual 
Aneroid?  What  is  the  Spiritual  Aneroid '  f  "  she  asked. 
"  Oh,  a  newspaper.  What  could  a  newspaper  with 
such  a  funny  name  have  to  say  about  Mr.  Courtland  ?" 

"  I  have  brought  it  with  me,"  said  Phyllis.  "  It  is 
quite  disgraceful.  I'm  sure  you'll  agree  with  me." 

"  I'm  certain  of  it." 

Ella  accepted  the  proffered  paper  and  glanced  down 
the  article  pointed  out  to  her  by  Phyllis.  Phyllis' 
eyes  were  gleaming  as  she  placed  her  finger  on  the 
words,  "  Dynamite  versus  Evangelization,"  but  Ella's 
eyes  did  riot  gleam  while  she  was  reading  all  the 
words  printed  beneath  the  heading.  She  folded  the 
paper  and  glanced  carelessly  at  the  name  at  the  top  of 
the  outside  page  and  said,  "  Well  ?" 

"  Was  there  ever  anything  so  disgraceful  ? "  cried 
the  girl.  "  Was  there  ever  anything  so  false  ?  " 

"  Is  it  false  ?  "  asked  Ella. 

"  How  can  you  doubt  it  ?  Do  you  fancy  that  Mr. 
Courtland  would  be  a  slave-dealer?" 

"  I  wonder  how  he'd  look  in  the  broad  flat  hat 
which  appears  in  all  the  pictures  of  the  slave-dealers? 
Rather  well,  I  fancy,"  said  Mrs.  Linton. 

"  Oh,  how  can  you  talk  of  his  looking  well  or  ill 
when  you  read  such  an  attack  upon  him  ?"  said  Phyllis, 
jumping  up  with  a  charmingly  rosy  face.  "  Surely  it 
is  something  to  you  when  so  distinguished  a  man — 
your  friend  as  well — is  attacked  !  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHIIJSTIA.  105 

"If  we  were  traveling  with  him  across  the  desert  in 
a  caravan,  should  we  mind  much  if  the  whole  caravan 
were  attacked  by  Bedouins  or  missionaries  or  people 
of  that  stamp,  my  dear?  Of  course  we  shouldn't. 
We  should  feel  that  he  would  be  equal  to  the  defense 
of  all  of  us,  and  himself  as  well." 

"  Oh,  of  course  ;  but  this  is  quite  another  thing, 
isn't  it?  " 

"  Where  is  the  difference  ?  If  anybody  minds  the 
nonsense  printed  in  that  thing,  Herbert  Courtland  will 
certainly  be  able  to  defend  himself  when  called  on  to 
do  so." 

Phyllis  seated  herself  once  again. 

"  But  a  question  is  to  be  asked  in  Parliament  about 
him  ?  "  she  suggested. 

"And  can  you,  the  daughter  of  a  member  of  that 
Parliament,  honestly  tell  me  that  you  fancy  that  any 
human  being  minds  how  many  questions  are  asked 
about  him  in  the  Questionable  House  ?  " 

"  But  the  least  breath  of  suspicion — dynamite — 
slave-dealing — massacres — Armenia.  Oh,  the  article  is 
certain  to  be  copied  into  dozens  of  other  papers — the 
public  do  so  like  to  get  hold  of  some  scandal  against 
a  man  who  has  done  something  great." 

"  They  do  indeed.  Would  you  suggest  organizing 
a  committee  of  ladies  for  the  protection  of  Mr.  Court- 
land?" 

"  Don't  talk  nonsense,  Ella.  I  thought  that  you 
were  his  friend,  and  that  you  would  be  as  indignant 
as  I  was  at  that  disgraceful  atrack  upon  his  repu- 
tation." 

"I  don't  think  that  it  will  place  his  reputation  in 


106  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

jeopardy,  unless  with  the  readers  of  that  paper,  and 
they  are  not  worth  taking  into  account,  are  they  ?  " 

"  Papa  says  the  thing  has  a  large  circulation  among 
a  certain  class.  I  want  him  to  ridicule  the  question 
which  is  threatened  in  that  article  ;  he  knows  how  to 
do  that  kind  of  thing  very  well." 

"  Is  it  come  to  that,  my  Phyllis  ?  Were  you  really 
so  greatly  interested  in  the  one  conversation  you  had 
with  him  as  to  constitute  yourself  his  champion  ?  " 

Above  all  things  Phyllis  was  truthful.  She  had 
never  had  an  experience  of  love — that  passion  which 
x:an  change  the  most  truthful  of  womankind  into  the 
least  scrupulous.  There  was  no  pause  between  Ella's 
question  and  Phyllis'  answer. 

"  Certainly  the  one  conversation  that  I  had  with 
him  interested  me — I  told  you  so  returning  in  the 
carriage.  Has  he  never  succeeded  in  interesting  you, 
Ella?  He  told  me  that  you  were  his  friend — I  believe 
he  said  his  dearest  friend." 

"And  I  believe  that  he  told  you  the  truth,"  said 
Ella.  "  But,  being  his  best  friend  and  a  woman,  I 
refrain  from  constituting  myself  his  champion.  You 
see  we  live  in  Philistia,  my  Phyllis,  and  the  champions 
that  Philistia  sends  forth  usually  come  to  grief ;  there 
was  the  case  of  one  Goliath  of  Gath,  for  example.  I 
have  no  desire  to  have  stones  slung  at  me  by  the 
chosen  people." 

"  I'm  not  quite  sure  that  I  understand  you,"  said 
Phyllis,  with  a  very  pretty  pucker  on  her  forehead. 
"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  a  woman  should  not  do 
her  best  for  a  man  whom  she  knows  to  be  maligned  ? 
You  don't  suggest  that  she  should  stand  silently  to 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1STIA.  107 

one  side  while  people  are  saying  what's  false  about 
him  ?  " 

"I  say  that  it's  unwise  in  Philistia;  though  I  admit 
that  it  is  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  the  man,  for 
people  at  once  cease  maligning  him  and  take  to  malign- 
ing her." 

"  If  she  is  any  sort  of  a  woman  she  will  not  mind 
that,  however  unjust  it  may  be.  In  this  case,  how- 
ever, I  don't  think  that  there  is  much  risk  :  even  the 
most  unscrupulous  person  could  hardly  say  that — 
that— 

"  That  we  were  becoming  Herbert  Courtland's  cham- 
pions, because  we  were  in  love  with  him  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know.  Wasn't  that  what  you  meant 
to  suggest  people  would  say  of  a  woman  who  became 
a  man's  champion?" 

"  Something  in  that  way.  How  straightforwardly 
you  speak  out  what's  on  your  mind  !  " 

"  Oh,  I'm  a  girl  of  to-day.  I  have  got  over  all  those 
absurd  affectations  of  childishness  which  used  to  be 
thought  feminine  long  ago.  The  gambols  of  the  kitten 
were  once  thought  the  most  attractive  thing  on  earth, 
and  they  are  very  interesting  :  but  for  the  full-grown 
cat  to  pretend  that  it  is  perfectly  happy  with  a  ball  of 
worsted,  when  all  the  time  it  has  its  heart  set  on  a  real 
mouse,  is  nonsense." 

"  That  is  an  allegory,  a  subtle  parable,  Phyllis.  But 
I  fancy  I  can  interpret  it.  You  are  quite  right.  Men 
know  that  we,  the  full-grown  cats,  take  no  interest  in 
the  ravelings  of  wool  as  mediums  of  diversion — that  we 
have  our  hearts  set  on  mice.  Oh,  yes !  it  is  much  better 
to  be  straightforward  in  our  speech — it  is  even  some- 


lo8  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

times  better  to  be  quite  straight  in  our  ways  as  well. 
It  usually  prevents  misunderstanding.  There  is 
scarcely  a  subject  that  women  may  not  talk  about  to 
men  in  the  most  direct  way,  nowadays.  But  about 
the  question  of  championship ' 

Here  the  door  of  the  room  was  tfhrown  open  and 
Mr.  Herbert  Courtland  was  announced. 

"  I  quite  forgot  to  mention  that  Mr.  Courtland  was 
lunching  with  us  to-day,  Phyllis,"  said  Ella,  while  shak- 
ing hands  with  her  visitor.  "  Now  you  will  have  a 
chance  of  getting  the  slave-dealer's  account  of  the 
whole  business.  Are  you  a  slave-dealer,  Bertie  ?  If 
so,  why  don't  you  wear  the  usual  broad-leaved  hat  of 
your  order  ?  " 

"  It  is  I  who  am  the  enslaved  one,"  said  Mr.  Court- 
land,  laying  his  hand  to  the  left  of  the  buttons  of  his 
white  waistcoat  and  bowing  the  bow  of  the  early  years 
of  the  century,  with  a  glance  at  each  lady. 

"  What  a  pretty  reminiscence  of  the  age  of  artificial- 
ity !  "  said  Ella  ;  "  and  what  an  apt  commentary  upon 
the  subject  we  were  talking  about,  Phyllis  !  We  were 
discussing  the  merits  of  directness  in  speech  and 
straightness  in  every  way.  We  were  ridiculing  the 
timid  maid— all  sandals  and  simper — of  forty  years 
ago.  Why  should  men  and  women  have  ever  taken 
the  trouble  to  be  affected  ?  Let  us  go  in  to  lunch  and 
eat  with  the  appetites  of  men  and  women  of  the  nine- 
ties, not  with  the  nibblings  of  society  of  the  fifties. 
Come  along,  Phyllis.  Mr.  Courtland  will  tell  us  all 
about  his  dreadful  goings  on,  his  slave-dealings,  his 
dynamitings.  Have  you  seen  that  article  in  the — 
what's  the  name  of  the  paper,  Phyllis  ?  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  109 

"  The  Spiritual  Aneroid"  said  Phyllis. 

"  I  haven't  been  so  fortunate,"  said  he. 

"  Then  we  shall  take  the  paper  into  the  dining 
room  with  us,  and  place  it  before  you.  If  you  were 
guilty  of  the  doings  that  the  article  details,  you  would 
do  well  to — to — well,  to  adopt  the  picturesque  cos- 
tume incidental  to  ruffianism — the  linen  jacket  of  the 
slave-trader,  the  mangy  fur  collar  of  the  dynamity 
man  of  war.  Have  you  ever  trafficked  in  human 
beings,  Mr.  Courtland  ?  " 

"  Well,  yes,"  said  he.  "  I  have  done  a  little  in  that 
way,  I  admit." 

"  And  dynamite — have  you  ever  massacred  people 
with  dynamite  ?  "  Ella  continued. 

"  Well,  when  my  dynamite  exploded,  the  people 
who  were  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  were  never 
just  the  same  afterward,"  said  he. 

"  Finally,  did  you  allow  yourself  to  be  worshiped 
as  God  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Yes,  I  got  them  to  do  that,"  he  replied.  "  I  have 
experienced  all  human  sensations,  including  those  of  a 
god  in  working  order." 

"  Then  I  hope  you  will  make  a  good  lunch.  We 
begin  with  white-bait." 

"  I  am  quite  satisfied  to  begin  with  white-bait,"  said 
he. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"  EVEN    THE    HOUSE   OF   COMMONS   DOESN'T    MATTER 
MUCH." 

"  I  DID  not  intend  to  stay  for  lunch,"  said  Phyllis, 
"  but  your  overpowering  will  swept  me  along  with  it, 
Ella.  But  I  hope  you  will  let  me  say  that  I  don't 
think  you  should  jest  about  what  is — what  some  peo- 
ple at  any  rate  think  very  serious." 

"  Phyllis  is  of  Philistia,"  said  Ella,  "  and  Philistia 
was  always  given  to  ordeal  by  champion.  She  thinks 
the  attack  made  upon  you  by  two  missionaries  in  their 
newspaper  organ  quite  disgraceful.  It  doesn't  seem  so 
disgraceful  after  all." 

"  I  haven't  seen  the  attack,"  said  he.  "  But  I  feel 
it  to  be  very  good  of  Miss  Ayrton  to  think  it  dis- 
graceful." 

"  Of  course  I  thought  it  disgraceful,"  said  Phyllis, 
"  and  I  came  to  Ella  to  talk  it  all  over.  The  article 
accuses  you  of  atrocities,  and  said  that  a  question 
would  shortly  be  put  to  the  Minister  of  the  Annexa- 
tion Department  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Now,  I 
know  that  there  is  nothing  my  father  enjoys  more  than 
snubbing  those  detestable  men  who  endeavor  to  get  up 
a  reputation  for  philanthropy,  and  temperance,  and 
bimetallism,  and  other  virtues,  by  putting  questions  on 
the  paper;  and  he  could,  I  think,  ask  some  counter 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  in 

question  in  this  particular  case  that  would  ridicule  the 
original  busybody." 

"  It  was  very  good  of  you  to  think  so,  Miss  Ayrton," 
said  he.  "  I  can't  say  that,  personally,  I  mind  all  the 
attacks  that  all  the  missionaries  who  earn  precarious 
salaries  in  South  Seas  may  make  upon  me ;  but  I  must 
confess  that  I  have  a  weakness  for  seeing  busybodies 
put  to  shame." 

"  You  may  depend  upon  Mr.  Ayrton's  satire,"  said 
Ella.  "  It  never  misses  the  point  in  the  harness.  The 
barb  of  the  dart  is,  I  believe,  Mr.  Ayrton's,  the  feather 
at  the  other  end  is  Phyllis'." 

"  Only  once  that  happened,"  said  Phyllis.  "  Oh, 
no!  papa  manufactures  his  own  darts,  from  feather 
to  tip." 

"  But  supposing  that  the  charges  brought  against 
me  are  true?"  suggested  Mr.  Courtland. 

"  Why,  then,  can't  you  see  there  is  all  the  greater 
need  for  ingenuity  in  your  defense?"  said  Ella. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  think  of  the  charges,as  true," 
said  Phyllis  stoutly. 

"  For  example  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Well,  the  article  said  that  you  had  made  slaves 
of  some  of  the  natives  of  New  Guinea,  purchasing 
them  by  a  promise  to  help  a  native  chief  against 
his  enemies." 

"  There  wasn't  much  harm  in  that :  I  did  it,"  said  he. 

"And  then  it  went  on  to  say  that  you  kept  your 
promise,"  said  Phyllis. 

"  What !  They  accused  me  of  keeping  my  prom- 
ise ?  "  said  he.  "  Well,  I'm  afraid  I  can't  deny  that 
charge  either." 


112  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  Did  you  really  slaughter  the  natives  ?  "  cried  Phyllis. 

The  interest  which  she  felt  appeared  in  her  eyes. 

"  I  did  my  best  for  the  savages  who  had  purchased 
my  services,"  he  replied.  "  The  campaign  was  not  a 
protracted  one.  Two  days  after  the  outbreak  of  hos- 
tilities brought  things  to  a  climax.  We  fought  our 
decisive  battle — the  Sedan  of  King  Mubamayo.  You 
see,  I  had  a  trustworthy  Winchester.  I  believe  that 
about  seventy  of  the  enemy  bit  the  dust." 

"Only  seventy?  That  was  unworthy  of  you,  Mr. 
Courtland,"  cried  Ella.  "  Nothing  short  of  thousands 
counts  as  a  civilized  battle.  Seventy!  Oh,  I'm  afraid 
you  don't  do  yourself  justice." 

"  Of  course  a  battle  is  a  battle,"  said  Phyllis  stoutly. 
"  If  you  hadn't  killed  them  they  would  have  killed 
you.  You  were  in  the  right,  I'm  sure." 

"  I'm  not  so  sure  of  that,"  said  he,  shaking  his  head. 
"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  the  elements  of  the  crisis  of 
Headman  Glowabyola  were  somewhat  involved.  The 
original  dispute  was  difficult  for  a  foreigner  to  under- 
stand— it  was,  in  fact,  the  Schleswig-Holstein  question 
of  Kafalonga." 

"  You  settled  it,  anyway,"  suggested  Ella.  "  You 
were  the  Bismarck  of  what's-its-name  ?  " 

"  I  doubled  the  parts  of  Bismarck  and  Von  Moltke," 
said  he. 

"And  that's  why  they  worshiped  you  as  their  god? 
I  don't  wonder  at  the  heathen  in  his  blindness  doing 
that.  Any  man  who  was  the  same  as  Bismarck  and 
Von  Moltke  would  certainly  shoulder  a  deity  out  of 
his  way,"  laughed  Ella. 

"  It  so  happened,  however,  that  my  deification  was 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  113 

due  neither  to  my  recognition  as  a  diplomatist  nor  as 
a  military  strategist,"  said  the  explorer.  "  No,  they 
wanted  something  beyond  the  mere  fighting  man  to 
worship,  and  my  knowledge  of  that  fact  combined 
with  their  paeans  of  victory — to  the  obbligato  of  a  solid 
iron-wood  drum  beaten  with  the  thigh  bones  of  the 
conquered — to  keep  me  awake  at  night.  But  one 
morning  the  headman  came  upon  me  when  I  was 
about  to  boil  my  kettle  to  make  myself  a  cup  of  tea. 
I  had  a  small  lamp  that  burned  spirits,  and  he  stood 
by  while  I  filled  it  up  from  the  bottle  that  I  carried 
with  me.  He  took  it  for  granted  that  the  spirit  was 
water,  and  he  was  greatly  impressed  when  he  saw  it 
flare  up  as  I  applied  a  lighted  match  to  it.  He  asked 
me  if  I  possessed  the  power  to  set  water  in  a  blaze, 
and  I  assured  him  that  that  was  something  for  which 
I  had  long  been  celebrated  ;  adding  that  when  I  had 
had  my  breakfast  I  meant  to  while  away  an  hour  or 
two  by  setting  fire  to  the  ocean  itself.  He  implored 
of  me  to  reconsider  my  decision,  and  when  I  had 
poured  a  little  spirit  into  the  hollow  of  my  hand  and 
lighted  it  in  the  presence  of  his  most  eminent  scien- 
tists, they  said  that  they  also  desired  to  associate  them- 
selves with  the  headman's  petition.  I  was,  however, 
inexorable  ;  I  walked  down  to  the  beach  and  had  just 
struck  a  match  on  the  brink  of  the  ocean  when  the 
whole  tribe  prostrated  themselves  around  me,  promis- 
ing to  continue  worshiping  me  if  I  would  only  stay 
my  hand.  Well,  what  could  I  do  ?  I  weakly  yielded 
and  spared  the  multitudinous  sea  from  being  the 
medium  of  what  would  in  all  likelihood  have  been  the 
greatest  conflagration  on  record.  From  that  moment, 


114  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA. 

I'm  happy  to  say,  they  worshiped  me  as  their  supreme 
deity,  and  I'm  bound  to  say  that  I  behaved  as  such  ; 
I  was  certainly  the  most  superior  class  of  god  they 
had  ever  had,  and  they  gave  me  a  testimonial  to  this 
effect  in  case  I  might  ever  be  looking  out  for  a  new 
situation." 

"  That  was  how  you  managed  to  get  such  a  collec- 
tion of  birds,  including  my  meteor-bird,"  said  Ella. 
"  But  Phyllis  of  Philistia  is  shocked  at  the  bare  recital 
of  such  a  tale  of  idolatry.  Are  you  not,  Phyllis?" 

"  I  think  I  am  a  little  shocked,"  said  Phyllis.  She 
did  not  say  that  her  first  thought  just  then  was  that 
the  feather  fan  was  not,  after  all,  the  price  of  blood  : 
it  was  something  much  worse.  "  It  was  an  encourage- 
ment of  idolatry,  was  it  not,  Mr.  Courtland  ?  " 

"  Scarcely,"  said  he.  "  On  the  contrary,  it  was  an 
honest  attempt  to  lead  them  from  their  idols  to  some- 
thing higher  and  better." 

"  You  are  something  higher  and  better,"  suggested 
Ella. 

"  Quite  so  ;  I  am  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  but 
a  good  deal  higher  than  the  awful  image  which  they 
worshiped  before  I  turned  up,"  said  he.  "  The  whole 
tribe  admitted  in  the  most  honorable  manner  that  I 
was  by  far  the  best  god  they  had  ever  had  ;  they  had 
not  an  unlucky  day  so  long  as  they  worshiped  me,  and 
I  retained  my  Winchester  and  a  full  supply  of  car- 
tridges." 

"  The  testimony  was  flattering,"  said  Ella.  "  But 
still  Phyllis  is  shocked." 

"  I  am,"  said  Phyllis.  "  I  believe  in  God.  Mr. 
Courtland  believes  in  a  Principle." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  115 

"  Anyhow,  I  led  some  thousands  of  savages  from 
idolatry  and  cannibalism  to  something  higher,  and 
that's  a  better  record  than  most  gods  of  my  acquaint- 
ance can  show.  Everything  must  be  done  gradually 
to  be  done  permanently.  Nothing  could  be  more 
absurd  than  the  modus  operandi  of  your  missionary. 
Most  of  them  have  got  rid  of  their  Christianity  to 
make  way  for  their  theology.  They  endeavor  to  in- 
culcate upon  the  natives  the  most  subtle  points  of 
their  theological  system,  immediately  after  they  have 
preached  against  the  wickedness  of  economy  in  the 
matter  of  clothing." 

"  A  large  missionary  work  might  be  done  among 
husbands  at  home,"  said  Ella.  "  But  what  about  the 
dynamite,  that  is  the  charge  which  still  hangs  over 
you — a  charge  of  dynamite?  " 

"  That  was  my  worst  hour,"  said  Courtland.  "  I  had 
gone  up  the  Fly  River  in  my  steam  launch  to  a  point 
never  previously  reached  by  a  European.  I  was  fortu- 
nate enough  to  get  some  specimens  that  had  never 
been  seen  before,  and  I  was  returning  to  the  coast. 
My  engineer  and  I  were  captured  when  ashore  one 
night  getting  fuel  for  our  furnace.  They  took  us  into 
the  forest  a  long  way,  binding  our  hands  with  the 
fiber  of  one  of  the  creepers,  and  I  had  no  trouble  what- 
ever gathering  that  it  was  their  intention  to  make  a 
feast  of  us — a  sort  of  high  tea,  it  was  to  be,  for  they 
began  brewing  the  herbs  which  I  knew  they  used  only 
when  they  were  cannibalizing.  We  were  courteously 
permitted  to  watch  these  preparations,  for  it  was 
rightly  assumed  that  they  would  be  in  some  degree 
interesting  to  us.  We  were,  indeed,  greatly  interested 


Il6  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

in  all  we  saw,  but  much  more  so  when,  toward  evening, 
a  number  of  the  natives  arrived  on  the  scene  carrying 
with  them  some  of  the  stores  which  they  had  found 
aboard  the  steam  launch.  They  broke  open  with  a 
stone  hatchet  some  tins  of  preserved  meat,  and  seemed 
to  enjoy  the  contents  greatly.  The  biscuits  they 
didn't  care  for  much,  and  the  cakes  of  soap  which  they 
began  to  eat  could  not  honestly  be  said  to  be  an  entire 
success  as  comestibles.  But  while  we  watched  them  at 
these  hors  d'ceuvres  to  the  banquet  at  which  we  were 
expected  to  take  a  prominent  part,  a  straggler  came 
up  with  some  reserve  supplies  ;  I  saw  them  ;  tins  of 
dynamite — we  carried  dynamite  for  blowing  up  the 
snags  that  obstructed  the  narrower  reaches  of  the 
river.  We  watched  the  thieves  crowd  around  the 
bearer  of  the  tins,  and  we  saw  that  the  general  impres- 
sion that  prevailed  in  regard  to  them  was  that  they 
had  come  upon  some  of  the  most  highly  concentrated 
beef  they  had  ever  had  in  their  hands.  When  they 
laid  the  tins  among  the  hot  ashes  of  their  fires  and 
began  to  break  them  open  with  their  stone  hatchets, 
my  engineer  thought  with  me  that  all  the  interest 
there  would  be  in  the  subsequent  proceedings  could 
not  possibly  compensate  us  for  the  waste  of  precious 
time  which  would  be  entailed  by  our  remaining.  We 
bolted  in  spite  of  our  fettered  hands,  but  before  we 
had  got  more  than  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  from  the 
camp,  there  took  place  the  severest  earthquake,  coinci- 
dental with  a  thunderstorm  and  the  salute  of  a  battery 
of  a  thousand  heavy  guns.  We  were  whirled  into  the 
air  like  feathers  in  a  breeze,  but  managed  to  cling — 
our  bonds  being  broken — to  some  of  the  boughs  among 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  1 1? 

which  we  found  ourselves.  Shortly  afterward,  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  or  so,  there  came  on  the  heaviest  shower  I 
had  ever  experienced.  Such  a  downpour  of  branches 
of  trees,  gnarled  roots,  broken  fruits,  birds'  feathers, 
mutilated  apes  of  many  species,  and — well,  anatom- 
ical specimens !  It  went  on  and  on  until  the  boughs 
around  us  were  made  into  splinters  and  we  were 
beaten  to  the  ground  with  the  force  of  those  missiles, 
all  the  dense  forest  around  us  echoing  to  the  shrieks 
of  the  lories  and  parrots,  the  monkeys  and  the  wild- 
cats." 

"  And  now  the  missionaries,"  said  Ella,  after  a 
pause. 

"And  what  happened  after  that?"  whispered 
Phyllis. 

He  shook  his  head. 

"  After  that  we  came  away,"  he  said.  "  We  couldn't 
see  that  there  was  any  need  for  us  to  stay  loafing 
about  the  forest  when  we  had  our  business  to  mind 
in  another  direction.  It  took  us  two  days,  however, 
finding  our  launch." 

"  And  that  is  what  the  missionaries  call  your  dyna- 
mite outrage  against  the  natives  ?  "  said  Ella. 

"  So  it  would  seem,"  said  he.  "  I  suppose  they 
managed  to  get  some  account  of  the  business ;  one 
can't  hush  up  a  dynamite  outrage  even  in  the  interior 
of  New  Guinea." 

"  But  what  a  gross  misrepresentation  of  facts  it 
was  to  say  that  you  had  massacred  the  natives,"  cried 
Phyllis  indignantly. 

He  laughed  with  a  shrug. 

"  Oh,  we  must  all  live,"  he  said. 


Il8  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  Unless  those  who  treat  tins  of  dynamite  as  though 
they  were  tins  of  brawn,"  said  Ella.  Then  turning  to 
Phyllis  she  smiled. 

Phyllis  had  no  difficulty  interpreting  the  smile. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  "your  opinion  was  quite  correct: 
Mr.  Courtland  doesn't  care  what  people  say,  and  it 
doesn't  matter  in  the  least  what  they  do  say,  or  what 
falsehoods  are  spread  abroad." 

"  Not  in  the  smallest  degree,"  said  Ella.  "  Herbert 
Courtland  is  still  Herbert  Courtland." 

"  But  so  far  as  I  can  gather,"  said  Mr.  Courtland, 
"  all  that  the  missionaries  said  of  me  was  substantially 
correct." 

"  Read  the  paper  and  you  will  see  how  detestably 
false  all  the  charges  are,"  cried  Phyllis,  rising, — the 
servants  had  now  left  the  room, — and  picking  up  the 
Spiritual  Aneroid  from  where  Ella  had  laid  it  on  a 
chair. 

Herbert  Courtland  had  not  yet  opened  it.  He  took 
it  from  her,  saying  : 

"Thank  you,  Miss  Ayrton.  But  I  really  don't  see 
that  it  concerns  me  very  much  whether  or  not  the 
charges  brought  against  me  are  true  or  false.  The 
matter  is  certainly  one  for  the — the — ah— Spiritual 
Aneroid  and  its  special  clientele." 

"  But  a  question  is  to  be  asked  about  it  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  I  said  so  just  now,"  cried 
Phyllis. 

"And  even  the  House  of  Commons  doesn't  matter 
much,"  said  Ella. 

"  That  is  what  papa  thought,"  said  Phyllis  meekly. 
"  Only  I  know  that  if  Mr.  Courtland  thought  it  worth 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  Up 

noticing,  papa  would  be  quite  pleased  to  put  a  counter 
question.  That  is  why  I  came  here  to-day." 

"  It  was  so  good  of  you,"  said  the  man. 

"  My  Phyllis  is  all  that  is  good.  Let  us  return  to 
the  drawing  room,"  said  Ella,  rising. 

They  returned  to  the  drawing  room  ;  but  when  they 
had  been  in  that  apartment  for  perhaps  four  minutes, 
certainly  not  five,  Phyllis  said  it  was  necessary  for 
her  to  hurry  home  in  order  that  the  afternoon  letters 
should  be  sent  to  her  father  at  the  House. 

With  another  word  of  appreciation  of  her  kindness, 
Mr.  Courtland  held  her  hand  a  second  longer  than 
was  absolutely  necessary  to  maintain  a  character  for 
civility. 

"  She  is  the  most  charming  girl  in  the  world," 
remarked  Ella  to  the  visitor,  who  remained  when 
Phyllis  had  left. 

"  Is  she?"  said  he. 

"  I  know  it.     Don't  you?"  asked  she. 

"How  do  I  know?"  he  said.  "I  have  thought 
nothing  about  it.  If  you  say  she  is  charming,  I  am 
pleased  to  hear  it.  It  matters  no  more  to  me  that  the 
world  is  full  of  charming  girls  than  that  the  kraken  is 
still  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  One  woman  fills  all  my 
thoughts.  My  heart  is  full  of  her." 

"  And  you  want  her  to  risk  the  salvation  of  her  soul 
for  you  ?  " 

"Yes ;  that  is  just  what  I  want." 

He  remained  with  her  for  another  hour. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"  THE   HONORABLE    MEMBER    IS    CLEARLY    OUT    OF 
ORDER." 

MR.  AYRTON  met  his  daughter  the  next  morning  with 
the  good  news  that  he  had  found  among  his  specimen 
cases  of  phrases,  one  that  would  effectually  silence  the 
member  from  Wales  who  had  been  nominated  by  the 
Nonconformist  Eastern  Missionary  Society  to  put  that 
question  to  the  minister  of  the  Annexation  Depart- 
ment on  the  subject  of  Mr.  Courtland,  the  explorer. 
Mr.  Ayrton  was  the  better  pleased  at  his  discovery, 
because  of  the  inoffensive  nature  of  the  ph/ase  which 
he  had  taken  out  of  its  case,  so  to  speak.  As  a  rule, 
he  did  not  mind  being  offensive  if  only  his  phrase  was 
apt.  Only  people  who  had  no  artistic  appreciation 
found  fault  with  the  tone  of  some  of  his  most  notable 
phrases.  He  did  not  mind  whether  they  were  just  or 
unjust,  they  said.  As  if  a  man  can  be  both  honest  and 
witty  at  the  same  time  ! 

It  so  happened,  however,  that  the  party  to  which 
Mr.  Ayrton  belonged  had  become  greatly  concerned 
in  respect  of  an  element  that  had  just  come  to  the  sur- 
face to  still  further  complicate  the  course  of  politics. 
This  was  the  Nonconformist  Conscience — hitherto  a 
quantity  ntgligeable  in  the  calculations  of  the  leaders, 
but  now  one  that  it  appeared  absolutely  necessary  to 
take  into  account  as  a  factor.  To  be  sure,  there  were 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  121 

a  good  many  people  who  put  their  tongues  in  their 
cheeks  when  any  mention  was  made  of  the  Noncon- 
formist Conscience :  they  said  it  was  no  more  to  be 
taken  seriously  than  the  Specter  on  the  Brocken  or 
the  Athanasian  Creed.  It  was  only  the  trick  of  an 
electioneering  agent  desirous  of  escaping  from  an 
utenable  position. 

There  were  other  persons,  however  (mostly  Noncon- 
formists), who  were  found  ready  to  declare  that  the 
Nonconformist  Conscience  was  a  Great  and  Living 
Truth.  The  only  point  upon  which  statesmen  of  all 
parties  were  agreed  was  that  it  was  worth  purchasing. 
The  Nonconformists  themselves,  upon  whom  the  Great 
and  Living  Truth  was  sprung,  had  no  notion  at  first 
that  it  could  be  turned  into  a  negotiable  security 
occupying  as  high  a  place  in  the  market  as,  say, 
Argentine  bonds.  But  it  did  not  take  them  very  long 
to  find  out  that  even  an  abstraction  such  as  this  could 
be  turned  to  good  account  by  discreet  maneuvering. 
Truth  sometimes  is  heard  on  an  election  platform,  and 
yet  truth  is  but  an  abstract  quality.  Why,  then, 
should  not  a  Great  and  Living  Truth  become  a 
regular  gold  mine  to  its  inventor?  It  was  as  great 
an  invention  as  the  art  of  electroplating,  which  it 
closely  resembled,  and  a  quite  as  nice  thing  could 
be  made  out  of  it  by  a  little  dexterous  manipulation. 
If  the  conscience  is  silver,  the  Nonconformist  Con- 
science is  at  least  electroplate  of  a  first-class  quality, 
it  was  argued  ;  and  a  political  manifesto,  which  was 
practically  a  financial  prospectus,  was  issued  with  a 
view  of  floating  the  Nonconformist  Conscience  Com- 
pany, Limited. 


122  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

English  politics  cannot  by  any  possibility  be  re- 
garded as  an  exact  science  ;  and  thus  it  was  that  all 
political  parties  were  at  this  time  making  bids  for 
shares  in  the  enterprise.  The  leaders  of  one  party,  in 
fact,  expressed  themselves  ready  to  buy  up  the  whole 
concern,  and  they  actually  tendered  bills  payable  at 
twelve  months  for  all  the  vendors'  interest,  and  it  was 
only  when  these  bills  became  due  and  were  returned 
dishonored  that  the  shadowy  character  of  the  trans- 
action was  made  plain,  and  the  country  was  convulsed 
at  the  disclosure  of  the  fact  that  the  vendors  had  dis- 
posed of  a  perfectly  worthless  invention,  and  that  the 
purchasers  had  paid  for  it  by  promises  that  were 
equally  worthless. 

All  this  happened  later,  however ;  when  the  fuss 
was  made  about  the  atrocities  by  an  explorer  in  New 
Guinea,  and  Mr.  Ayrton  was  contemplating  a  counter 
question  that  should  cast  ridicule  upon  the  mission- 
aries and  their  champion,  he  was  given  to  understand 
by  the  leaders  of  his  party,  who,  it  was  believed^  had 
a  small  parcel  of  baronetcies  done  up  in  official  twine, 
with  blank  spaces  for  the  name  and  address  in  each, 
awaiting  distribution  at  the  first  change  of  Govern- 
ment, that  he  must  take  no  step  that  might  jeopardize 
the  relations  of  the  party  with  the  vendors  of  the  Non- 
conformist Conscience.  The  Spiritual  Aneroid  was 
the  leading  Nonconformist  organ,  and  it  would  not 
do  to  sneer  at  the  missionaries  whom  it  supported. 
It  would  be  better  that  all  the  explorers  who  had  ever 
risked  their  lives  on  behalf  of  civilization  should  go  by 
the  board  than  that  a  single  vote  should  be  lost  to  the 
party,  he  was  assured  by  the  Senior  Whip. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  123 

This  was  rather  irritating  to  the  artist  in  phrases ; 
because  it  stood  to  reason  that  the  majority  of  his 
phrases  were  calculated  to  be  hurtful  to  his  opponents. 
He  was  thus  quite  elated  when  he  came  upon  some- 
thing which  would,  he  felt  sure,  call  comment  in  the 
press  at  the  expense  of  the  member  from  Wales  with- 
out casting  any  slight  upon  Nonconformist  Mission- 
ary enterprise. 

He  read  out  the  thing  to  his  daughter,  and  he  was 
surprised  to  find  that  she  was  not  appreciative  of  its 
unique  charm.  This  was  rather  too  bad,  he  felt,  con- 
sidering that  it  was  she  who  had  enlisted  his  services 
in  this  particular  matter. 

"  I  don't  think  Mr.  Courtland  wants  anybody  to 
take  his  part  in  Parliament  or  out  of  it,"  said  she. 
"  And  that's  why  I  think  it  would  be  better  to  let  that 
Mr.  Apthomas  ask  his  question  without  interruption. 
What  can  the  Minister  of  Annexation  say  except  that 
he  has  no  information  on  the  subject,  and  that  if  he 
had  he  could  not  interfere,  as  he  had  no  jurisdiction 
on  the  Fly  River?" 

"  That  is  what  he  will  reply  as  a  matter  of  course," 
said  her  father.  "  But  that  will  not  prevent  the  news- 
papers that  are  on  the  side  of  Wales  and  the  mission- 
aries from  saying  what  they  please  in  the  way  of 
comment  on  the  atrocities  in  New  Guinea." 

"  Mr.  Courtland  will  not  mind  whatever  they  may 
say,"  cried  Phyllis. 

"  That  was  the  view  I  took  of  the  matter  in  regard 
to  Mr.  Courtland's  attitude  when  you  mentioned  it  to 
me  at  first,"  said  he.  "  I  didn't  suppose  that  he  was 
the  man  to  be  broken  down  because  some  foolish 


124  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

paper  attacks  him ;  but  you  were  emphatic  in  your 
denunciation  of  the  injustice  that  would  be  liable  to 
be  done  if " 

"  Oh,  I  had  only  spoken  for  about  half  an  hour  to 
Mr.  Courtland  then,"  said  Phyllis.  "  I  think  I  know 
him  better  now." 

"  Yes,  you  have  spoken  with  him  for  another  half 
hour ;  you  therefore  know  him  twice  as  well  as  you 
did,"  remarked  her  father.  "  I  wonder  if  he  admitted 
to  you  having  done  all  that  he  was  accused  of  doing." 

He  saw  in  a  moment  from  the  little  uneasy  move- 
ment of  her  eyes  that  he  had  made  an  excellent  guess 
at  the  general  result  of  the  conversation  at  Mrs. 
Linton's  little  lunch.  He  had  not  yet  succeeded  in 
obtaining  any  details  from  his  daughter  regarding  her 
visit  to  Ella.  She  had  merely  told  him  that  Ella  had 
kept  her  to  lunch,  and  that  Mr.  Courtland  had  been 
there  also. 

"  Yes.  I  do  believe  that  he  admitted  everything," 
he  continued,  with  a  laugh  as  he  thought  how  clever 
he  was.  (He  had  frequent  reasons  for  laughing  that 
laugh.) 

"  No,"  said  Phyllis  doubtfully ;  "  he  did  not  admit 
everything." 

"  There  was  some  reservation  ?  Perhaps  it  was  me- 
linite that  he  employed  for  the  massacre  of  the  inno- 
cents of  New  Guinea,  not  dynamite." 

"  No  ;  it  was  dynamite.  But  the  natives  had  stolen 
it  from  his  steam  launch  and  they  exploded  it  them- 
selves." 

Mr.  Ayrton  lay  back  in  his  chair  convulsed  with 
laughter. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  125 

"  And  that  is  the  true  story  of  the  dynamite  massa- 
cre?" he  cried.  "That  is  how  it  comes  that,  in  the 
words  of  the  Aneroid,  the  works  of  evangelization 
on  Nonconformist  principles  is  likely  to  be  retarded 
for  some  time  ?  The  missionaries  are  quite  right  too. 
And  what  about  his  miracles — they  suggested  a  miracle, 
didn't  they?" 

"  Oh,  that  was  some  foolishness  about  setting  spirits 
of  wine  on  fire,"  said  Phyllis.  "  The  natives  thought 
that  it  was  water,  you  know." 

Mr.  Ayrton  laughed  more  heartily  than  before. 

"  That  is  the  crowning  infamy,"  he  cried.  "  My 
dear  Phyllis,  it  would  be  quite  impossible  to  allow  so 
delicious  a  series  of  missionary  muddles  to  pass  unno- 
ticed. I  think  I  see  my  way  clearly  in  the  matter." 

She  knew  that  he  did.  She  knew  that  he  regarded 
most  incidents  in  the  political  world  merely  as  feeders 
to  his  phrase-making  capacity.  She  knew  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  repress  him  now  in  the  matter 
of  Courtland  and  the  missionaries ;  she  fully  realized 
the  feelings  of  Frankenstein. 

Only  the  weakest  protest  did  she  make  against  her 
father's  intended  action  ;  and  thus  when  the  day  came 
for  Mr.  Apthomas'  question,  that  gentleman  from 
Wales  inquired,  "  If  Her  Majesty's  Minister  for  An- 
nexations could  give  the  House  any  information 
regarding  the  so-called  explorations  of  Mr.  Herbert 
Courtland  in  the  island  of  New  Guinea,  particularly  in 
respect  of  a  massacre  of  natives  by  dynamite  in  the 
region  of  the  Fly  River ;  and  if  it  was  true  that  the 
gentleman  just  named  had  permitted  himself  to  be 
worshiped  as  a  god  by  the  aborigines  of  another 


126  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

region ;  and  if  Her  Majesty's  Minister  for  Domestic 
Affairs  was  prepared  to  say  that  it  was  legal  for  one  of 
Her  Majesty's  subjects  to  assume  the  privileges  and 
functions  of  a  god,  and  if  the  First  Lord  of  the  Treas- 
ury was  prepared  to  communicate  to  the  House  what 
course,  if  any,  Her  Majesty's  government  meant  to 
adopt  with  a  view  to  the  prevention  of  similar  outrages 
in  the  same  region  in  the  future?" 

Mr.  Ayrton  rose  before  the  Minister  of  the  Annexa- 
tion Department  had  quite  concluded  his  yawn,  and 
said  he  trusted  that  he  was  in  order  (cries  of  "  Yes, 
yes,"  from  those  members  who  knew  that  the  honor- 
able member  had  an  enlivening  phrase  which  he  wanted 
to  get  rid  of)  in  inquiring,  in  connection  with  the  same 
subject,  if  the  right  honorable  gentleman  could  inform 
the  House  if  there  was  any  truth  in  the  report  current 
in  financial  and  other  circles  that  the  object  of  the 
explorations  of  Mr.  Herbert  Courtland  was  the  dis- 
covery of  a  small  mammal  of  the  porcine  tribe,  and  if 
one  of  the  Law  Officers  of  the  Crown  was  prepared  to 
assure  the  House  that  it  would  be  contrary  to  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Companies  Act,  and  the  Companies  Act 
Amendment  Act,  to  permit  this  New  Guinea  pig  to 
assume  the  functions  of  the  director  of  Limited 
Liability  Companies,  whose  directorate  was  largely 
composed  of  members  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament 
(great  laughter  from  honorable  gentlemen  who  were 
aware  that  the  Mr.  Apthomas  had  no  income  beyond 
the  remuneration  he  received  as  a  director  of  compa- 
nies) ;  and  if  Her  Majesty's  Minister  for  Agriculture 
was  prepared  to  state  that  it  was  the  intention  of  Her 
Majesty's  Government  to  prohibit  the  introduction  of, 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  127 

at  any  rate  the  males  of  the  mammals  just  referred  to, 
considering  the  rapid  increase  in  representative  assem- 
blies of  the  English  or  Welsh  bore (Great  laugh- 
ter, which  prevented  the  concluding  words  of  the  sen- 
tence being  audible  in  the  gallery.) 

THE  SPEAKER  :  Order,  order !  The  honorable  mem- 
ber for  Hazelborough  must  confine  himself  strictly  to 
the  issues  raised  by  the  honorable  gentleman  from 
Wales.  The  honorable  member  for  Hazelborough  is 
only  permitted  to  follow  the  honorable  gentleman 
from  Wales  by  the  indulgence  of  the  House. 

MR.  AVRTON :  Sir,  I  bow  to  the  ruling  of  the  chair, 
and  will  continue  by  inquiring  if  Her  Majesty's  Min- 
ister for  the  Public  Worship  Department  can  state  to 
the  House  if  it  is  true  that  a  newspaper  published 
within  the  Principality  of  Wales  recently  made  the 
announcement  that  the  honorable  member  who  has 
just  made  inquiries  regarding  the  exploration  of  Mr. 
Herbert  Courtland,  was  the  idol  of  his  constituents 
[Laughter,  and  cries  of  "Order!"],  and  if  the  right 
honorable  gentleman  is  prepared  to  state  that  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Idolatry  Act  are 

THE  SPEAKER:  The  honorable  member  is  clearly 
out  of  order.  The  question  of  idolatry  in  Wales  is 
not  at  present  before  the  House. 

MR.  AYRTON  :  Sir,  I  give  notice  that  next  session  I 
shall  move  a  resolution  regarding  idolatry  in  the  Prin- 
cipality of  Wales.  [Laughter  and  cheers.] 

The  Minister  for  Annexation  was  about  to  rise,  when 

MR.  MUDLARKY  (Ballynamuck)  asked  if  the  intro- 
duction of  the  guinea  pigs  would  be  prejudicial  to  the 
interests  of  the  higher  and  nobler  Irish  animal  who, 


128  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

he  would  remind  the  Minister  for  Public  Worship,  was 
not  to  be  confounded  with  the  herd  whose  example 
was  clearly  emulated  by  the  present  government  in 
seeking  self-destruction  by  running  down  a  steep  place 
into  the  sea.  (Cries  of  "  Order,  order !  ")  If  there  was 
any  doubt  before,  the  honorable  member  continued, 
as  to  the  influence  which  was  at  work  in  that  Gadarene 
herd,  which  assumed  the  functions  of  Her  Majesty's 
government,  the  sounds  that  now  came  from  the 
Treasury  Benches  would  convince  even  the  most  skep- 
tical that  sacred  history  is  sometimes  repeated  by 
profane,  but  he  could  not  compliment  the  devils,  who 

had  the  bad  taste  to (Several  honorable  members 

here  rose  amid  the  cheers  of  the  Irish  members,  and  a 
scene  of  confusion  took  place.) 

THE  SPEAKER  [sternly]:  Order,  Order!  The  hon- 
orable member  from  Ballynamuck  must  resume  his 
seat..  He  is  out  of  order.  The  question  before  the 
House  is  not  the  good  taste  of  demoniac  visitants.  I 
call  upon  the  right  honorable  gentleman,  the  Minister 
for  the  Department  of  Annexation. 

MR.  McCULLUM  (Blairpukey  Burghs) :  Mr.  Speaker, 
one  moment.  To  save  time,  will  the  right  honorable 
gentleman  say  if  the  Highland  Crofters,  whose  land 
was  stolen  from  them  in  order  that  the  members  of 
the  Upper  House 

THE  SPEAKER  :  Order !  The  Minister  for  the  De- 
partment of  Annexation. 

MR.  BLISTER  (Battersea,  Mid.):  Mr.  Speaker, 
though  I  don't  do  any  work  myself,  I'm  the  represent- 
ative of  labor,  only  those  contemptible  skunks,  the 
Xvorkingmen,  don't  see  that  they  have  a  man  for  a 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA,  129 

leader — a  man,  that's  me — that's  Joe  Blister.  And  as 
the  Upper  House  has  been  introduced,  I'll  run,  eat, 
or  swear  with  the  best  of  that  lot  of  tap-room  loafers  ; 
I'll  do  anything  but  fight  them — except,  of  course,  on 
a  labor  platform,  and  if 

THE  SPEAKER  :  The  honorable  member  is  out  of 
order.  The  Minister  for  the  Department  of  Annexa- 
tions. 

THE  MINISTER  FOR  ANNEXATIONS  :  No,  sir ;  I  have 
no  information.  [Cheers  and  laughter.] 

The  House  then  went  into  Committee  of  Supply. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

"  BUT    MR.    COURTLAND AH,    NEVER    MIND  !  " 

MR.  AYRTON  entertained  his  daughter  with  a  de- 
scription of  the  scene  in  the  House  incidental  to  the 
annihilation  of  Mr.  Apthomas.  He  rather  thought 
himself  that  his  counter-question  had  been  neat.  He 
had  been  congratulated  on  it  by  quite  a  number  of  his 
friends  in  the  tea  room,  and  six  messages  had  been 
delivered  to  him  by  representatives  of  the  press  to  the 
effect  that  if  he  could  provide  them  with  the  exact  text 
of  his  counter-question  they  would  be  greatly  obliged. 

"  They  mean  to  report  it  in  full  ? "  said  Phyllis. 
She  had  an  ample  experience  of  the  decimation  of  his 
questions  as  well  as  speeches  by  the  members  of  the 
press  gallery.  They  had  reduced  it  to  a  science. 

"  I  am  much  mistaken  if  they  don't  comment  on  it 
as  well,"  said  her  father.  "  Poor  Apthomas  !  he  alone 
sat  glum  and  mute  while  everyone  around  him  was 
convulsed." 

"  I  hope  that  Mr.  Courtland  will  not  feel  hurt  at 
what  has  occurred,"  said  Phyllis  doubtfully. 

"  Mr.  Courtland  ?  Who  is  Mr.  Courtland  ?  What 
has  Mr.  Courtland  to  say  to  the  matter  ?  What  busi- 
ness is  it  of  his,  I  should  like  to  know." 

"Well,  considering  that  he  was  the  original  subject 
of  the  questions,  though  I  must  confess  that  he  didn't 
remain  long  so,  I  don't  think  it  altogether  unreasonable 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  131 

to  wonder  what  he  will  think  about  the  whole  epi- 
sode," remarked  Phyllis. 

"  Ah,  you  always  do  take  an  original  view  of  such 
incidents,"  said  her  father  indulgently.  "  It  is  so  like 
a  woman  to  try  and  drag  poor  Courtland  into  the 
business.  You  ought  to  know  better  than  to  fancy 
that  any  interest  attaches  to  the  original  subject  of  a 
question  in  the  House.  You'll  be  suggesting  next 
that  some  credit  should  be  given  to  the  youths  who 
pass  brilliant  examinations  in  things,  and  that  all 
should  not  be  absorbed  by  their  grinders." 

"  I'm  not  so  silly  as  that,  papa,"  said  she.  "  No  ; 
but  Mr.  Courtland Ah,  never  mind." 

He  did  not  mind. 

It  so  happened,  however,  that  several  of  the  news- 
papers which  commented  on  the  questions  and  coun- 
ter-questions the  next  day  introduced  the  name  of 
Mr.  Herbert  Courtland  and  his  explorations  ;  though, 
of  course,  most  attention  was  directed  to  what  Mr. 
Ayrton's  party  called  the  brilliant,  and  the  other  party 
the  flippant,  methods  of  Mr.  Ayrton.  His  reference  to 
the  New  Guinea  pig  some  thought  a  trifle  too  personal 
to  be  in  good  taste,  but  if  politicians  refrained  from 
personalities  and  were  punctilious  in  matters  of  taste, 
what  chance  would  they  have  of  "  scoring,"  and  where 
would  the  caricaturists  be  ?  The  reputation  of  a 
politician  is  steadily  built  up  nowadays,  not  by  con- 
sistency, certainly ;  not  by  brilliant  rhetoric  ;  not  even 
by  the  unscrupulous  exercise  of  a  faculty  for  organiz- 
ing impromptu  "  scenes,"  but  by  the  wearing  of  a  neck- 
tie, or  a  boot,  or  a  waistcoat  that  is  susceptible  of  car- 
icature. A  very  ordinary  young  man  has  before  now 


132  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

been  lifted  into  fame  by  the  twists  of  his  mustache,  and 
another  of  less  than  mediocre  ability  has  been  pre- 
vented from  sinking  in  the  flood  of  forgetf ulness  by  the 
kindly  efforts  of  a  caricaturist  who  supported  him  by  a 
simple  lock  on  his  scalp.  Thus  it  was  that  Mr.  Ap- 
thomas  found  himself  famous  before  a  week  had  passed, 
through  the  circumstance  of  being  represented  in  the 
leading  journal  of  caricature  as  a  guinea  pig,  flying, 
with  the  spoil  of  bubble  boards  of  directors  under  his 
arm,  from  the  attack  of  a  number  of  quaint-looking 
mammals  wearing  collars  inscribed  "  ACCURACY," 

"CORRECT  BALANCE  SHEETS,"  "  LEGITIMATE  SPECULA- 
TION," and  other  phrases  that  suggested  the  need  for 
the  old  guinea  pig  to  give  way  to  a  new  breed.  Under- 
neath the  picture  was  printed  a  portion  of  the  counter- 
question  of  Mr.  Ayrton,  and  opposite  to  it  were  some 
verses  with  a  jingling  refrain  that  everyone  could 
remember,  and  which  everyone  quoted  during  the 
next  few  days. 

The  firm  of  publishers  who  had  been  fortunate 
enough  to  secure  the  issue  of  Mr.  Courtland's  new 
book  were  delighted.  If  Mr.  Ayrton  could  only  have 
seen  his  way  to  introduce  their  names  and  their 
address  in  his  counter-question,  their  cup  of  happiness 
would  have  been  complete,  they  said.  They  managed, 
however,  to  induce  the  proprietors  of  a  young  lady 
who  was  reputed  to  be  the  vulgarest  and  most  fascinat- 
ing of  all  music-hall  artistes,  to  introduce  Mr.  Court- 
land's  name  into  one  of  the  movable  stanzas  of  her 
most  popular  lyric  :  those  stanzas  which  are  changed 
from  week  to  week,  so  as  to  touch  upon  the  topics 
which  are  uppermost  in  the  minds — well,  not  exactly 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  133 

the  minds — of  the  public.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
say  that  this  form  of  advertisement  is  worth  columns 
of  the  daily  papers;  and  if  Mr.  Courtland  had  only 
shown  himself  appreciative  of  his  best  interests  and 
had  changed  the  title  of  his  book  to  "  The  Land  of 
the  New  Guinea  Pig,"  instead  of  "  The  Quest  of  the 
Meteor-Bird,"  they  would  have  gone  to  press  with  an 
extra  thousand  copies. 

But  even  as  it  was  they  knew  that  between  the 
member  of  Parliament  and  the  music-hall  young  lady 
the  sale  of  the  book  was  a  certainty.  Their  calcula- 
tions were  not  at  fault.  The  publishers  sent  a  liberal 
subscription  to  the  Nonconformist  Eastern  Mission, 
whose  agents  had  stimulated  public  curiosity  in  Mr. 
Courtland's  new  book  by  suggesting  that  he  had 
carried  out,  single-handed,  one  of  the  most  atrocious 
massacres  of  recent  years ;  and  a  diamond  brooch 
to  the  music-hall  young  lady  who  had  so  kindly 
worked  in  the  reference  to  the  book  after  dancing  one 
of  her  most  daring  hornpipes  in  the  uniform  of  a  mid- 
shipman ;  they  doubled  the  lines  of  their  announce- 
ments in  the  advertising  columns  of  the  paper  that 
had  issued  the  cartoon  of  the  New  Guinea  Pig,  and, 
finally,  they  sent  a  presentation  copy  of  "  The  Quest 
of  the  Meteor-bird,"  to  Mr.  Ayrton. 

Then,  as  everyone  was  humming  the  lines  of  the 
music-hall  young  lady : 

"  From  the  land  of  far  New  Guinea 
Came  a  little  pig-a-ninny," 

the    daily   papers   were   bound    to   give    two-column 
reviews  to  the  book  on  the  day  of  its  publication  ;  and 


134  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILrSTIA. 

as  the  rod  which  Moses  cast  down  before  Pharoah 
swallowed  up  the  wriggling  rods  of  the  magicians,  the 
interest  attaching  to  Mr.  Courtland's  book  absorbed 
that  which  attached  to  all  the  other  books  of  the 
season,  including  "  Revised  Versions,"  though  the 
publishers  of  the  latter  moved  heaven  and  earth  (that 
is  to  say,  the  bishop  and  the  people's  churchwarden) 
to  get  the  Rev.  George  Holland  prosecuted.  If  either 
had  been  susceptible  to  reason,  and  had  got  up  a 
case  against  their  author,  the  publishers  declared  that 
Mr.  Courtland's  book  would  not  have  had  a  chance 
with  "  Revised  Versions."  To  be  sure  they  admitted 
that  the  report  that  Mr.  Holland  had  been  thrown 
over  by  the  lady  who  had  promised  to  marry  him  had 
given  a  jerk  forward  to  the  sales  ;  but  then  Mr.  George 
Holland  had  been  so  idiotically  blind  to  his  best 
interests  and  (incidentally)  the  best  interests  of  his 
publishers,  as  to  contradict  this  suggestion  of  incipient 
martyrdom,  and  thus  an  excellent  advertisement  had 
been  lost,  and  everyone  was,  in  a  week  or  two,  talking 
about  "  The  Quest  of  the  Meteor-bird,"  while  only  a 
few  continued  shaking  their  heads  over  "  Revised 
Versions." 

Meantime,  however,  Mr.  Courtland  thought  it  well 
to  call  upon  Mr.  Ayrton  in  order  to  thank  him  for 
his  kindness  in  replying  in  the  House  of  Commons  so 
effectively  to  the  questions  put  to  the  various  ministers 
by  Mr.  Apthomas;  and  Mr.  Ayrton  had  asked  Mr. 
Courtland  to  dinner,  and  Mr.  Courtland  had  accepted 
the  invitation,  Miss  Ayrton  begging  Mrs.  Linton  to  be 
of  the  party,  and  Mrs.  Linton  yielding  to  her  petition 
without  demur. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

"WOULD   IT  BE   WELL  WITH    MY    HUSBAND?" 

IT  was  on  their  way  back  from  this  little  dinner- 
party that  Mr.  Courtland  confessed  to  Ella  Linton 
that  he  had  come  to  think  of  her  dearest  friend  as  a 
most  charming  and  original  girl  ;  she  had  never  once 
referred  to  his  achievements  in  New  Guinea,  nor  had 
she  asked  him  to  write  his  name  in  her  birthday  book. 
Yes,  she  was  not  as  other  girls. 

"  I'm  so  delighted  to  hear  you  say  so  much,"  said 
Ella.  "  Oh,  Bertie !  why  not  make  yourself  happy 
with  a  sweet  girl  such  as  she,  and  give  no  more 
thought  to  such  absurdities  as  you  have  been  indulg- 
ing in  ?  Believe  me,  you  don't  know  so  well  as  well  as 
I  do  in  what  direction  your  happiness  lies." 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  happiness,"  said  he. 
"  I  don't  seem  to  care  much,  either.  When  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  find  the  meteor-bird,  don't  you  suppose 
that  there  were  many  people  who  told  me  that,  even  if 
it  was  found,  it  was  quite  unlikely  that  it  would  be 
more  succulent  eating  them  a  Dorking  chicken  ?  I'm 
sure  they  were  right.  You  see,  I  didn't  go  to  New 
Guinea  in  search  of  a  barndoor  fowl.  I  don't  want 
domestic  happiness,  I  don't  want  anything  but  you — 
you  are  my  meteor-bird.  I  found,  after  my  first  visit 
to  New  Guinea,  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  rest 
until  I  had  found  the  meteor-bird.  I  have  found 


136  PHYLLIS  Of  PHILISTIA. 

that  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  live  without  you,  my 
beloved." 

"  You  will  have  to  learn  to  live  without  me,"  said 
she,  laying  her  hand  upon  his.  They  had  now  reached 
her  house,  so  that  no  immediate  reply  was  possible. 
He  did  not  attempt  to  make  a  reply  until  they  had 
gone  into  a  small  drawing  room,  and  she  had  flung  off 
her  wrap.  They  were  alone. 

Then  he  knelt  on  the  rug  before  her  and  took  both 
her  hands  in  his  own — a  hand  in  each  of  his  hands — as 
they  lay  on  her  dress.  His  face  was  close  to  hers  : 
she  was  in  a  low  chair.  Each  could  hear  the  sound  of 
the  other's  breathing — the  sound  of  the  other's  heart- 
beats. That  duet  went  on  for  some  minutes — the 
most  perfect  music  in  life — the  music  which  is  life 
itself — the  music  by  which  man  becomes  immortal. 

"  Do  not  hold  me  any  longer,  Bertie,"  said  she. 
"  Kiss  me  and  go  away — away.  Oh,  why  should  you 
ever  come  back?  I  believe  that,  if  you  loved  me,  you 
would  go  away  and  never  come  back.  Oh,  what  is 
this  farce  that  is  being  played  between  us?  It  is 
unworthy  of  either  of  us !  " 

"A  farce?  A  tragedy!"  said  he.  "I  want  you, 
Ella.  I  told  you  that  I  could  not  live  without  you." 

"  You  want  me  ?  You  want  me,  Bertie  ?  "  said  she. 
Tears  were  in  her  eyes  and  in  her  voice,  for  there  was 
to  her  a  passion  of  pathos  in  those  words  of  his. 
"  You  want  me,  and  you  know  that  it  is  only  my  soul 
that  shall  be  lost  if  I  give  myself  to  you.  God  has 
decreed  that  only  the  soul  of  the  woman  pays  the  pen- 
alty of  the  man's  longing  for  her." 

"  Your  soul  shall  be  saved,  not  lost,"  said  he.     "  At 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  137 

present  it  is  your  soul  that  is  in  peril,  when  you  give 
your  sweetness  to  the  man  whom  you  have  ceased  to 
love — ah !  whom  you  never  loved.  You  will  save  your 
soul  with  me." 

"  I  shall  lose  it  for  all  eternity,"  said  she.  "  Do 
you  think  that  I  complain  ?  Do  you  fancy  for  a  mo- 
ment that  I  grumble  at  the  decree  of  God,  or  that  I 
rail  against  it  as  unjust  ?  " 

"  You  are  a  woman." 

"  I  am  a  woman,  and  therefore  you  know  I  will  one 
day  be  ready  to  lose  my  soul  for  you,  Bertie,  my  love. 
Oh,  my  dear,  dear  love,  you  say  you  want  me  ?" 

"  Oh,  my  God  !  " 

He  had  sprung  to  his  feet  and  was  pacing  the  room 
before  her. 

"  You  say  that  you  want  me.  Oh,  my  love,  my 
love,  do  you  fancy  for  a  moment  that  your  longing 
for  me  is  anything  to  be  compared  to  my  longing  for 
you?  " 

"  My  beloved,  my  beloved  !  " 

His  arms  were  about  her.  His  lips  were  upon  hers. 
She  kissed  him  as  he  kissed  her. 

Then  she  turned  her  head  away  so  that  his  kisses 
fell  upon  her  cheek  instead  of  her  mouth.  She  turned 
it  still  farther  and  they  fell  upon  her  neck — it  was 
exquisite  in  its  shape — and  lay  there  like  red  rose- 
leaves  clinging  to  a  carved  marble  pillar. 

"  Wait,"  she  said.     "  Wait ;  let  me  talk  to  you." 

She  untwined  his  arms  from  about  her — the  tears 
were  still  in  her  eyes  as  she  tried  to  face  him. 

"  Why  should  you  still  have  tears?"  said  he.  "If 
anything  stood  between  us  and  love,  there  might  be 


138  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

room  for  tears,  but  nothing  stands  between  us  now.  I 
am  yours,  you  are  mine." 

"  That  is  the  boast  of  a  man  who  sees  only  the 
beginning  of  a  love  ;  mine  are  the  tears  of  a  woman 
who  sees  its  end,  and  knows  that  it  is  not  far  off." 

"  How  can  you  say  that  ?  The  end  ?  the  end  of 
love  such  as  ours?  Oh,  Ella!" 

"  Oh,  listen  to  me,  my  love !  I  am  ashamed  of  the 
part  I  have  played  during  the  past  six  months — since 
we  were  together  on  the  Arno,  and  you  are  ashamed, 
too." 

"  I  am  not  ashamed.  I  have  no  reason  to  be 
ashamed." 

"  No ;  you  are  not  ashamed  of  the  part  you  have 
played  ;  but  you  are  ashamed  of  me,  Bertie." 

"  Of  you  ?  I — ashamed  of  you  ?  Oh,  my  darling, 
if  you  talk  longer  in  that  strain  I  will  be  ashamed  of 
you." 

"  You  are  ashamed  of  me — I  have  sometimes  felt  it. 
A  man  with  a  heart  such  as  I  know  yours  to  be,  can- 
not but  be  ashamed  of  a  woman  who,  though  the  wife 
of  another  man,  allows  him  to  kiss  her — yes,  and  who 
gives  him  kiss  for  kiss.  Oh,  go  away — go  away !  I 
have  had  enough  of  your  love — enough  of  your  kisses, 
enough  shame  !  Go  away  !  I  never  wish  to  see  you 
again — to  kiss  you  again." 

She  had  walked  to  the  other  end  of  the  room,  and 
stood  under  a  Venetian  mirror — it  shone  like  a  mon- 
strous jewel  above  her  head — looking  at  him,  her 
hands  clenched,  her  eyes  flashing  through  the  tears 
that  had  not  yet  fallen. 

He   had   had    no   experience   of   women  and  their 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHI  LIST/A.  139 

moods,  and  he  was  consequently  amazed  at  her 
attitude.  He  took  a  step  toward  her. 

"  No — no,"  she  cried  angrily.  "  I  will  not  have  any 
more  of  you.  I  tell  you  that  I  have  had  enough.  I 
find  now  that  what  I  mistook  for  love  was  just  the 
opposite.  I  believe  that  I  hate  you.  No — no,  Bertie, 

not  that,  it  cannot  be  that,  only Oh,  I  know  now 

that  it  is  not  hate  for  you  that  I  feel — it  is  hate  for 
myself,  hate  for  the  creature  who  is  hateful  enough  to 
stand  between  you  and  the  happiness  which  you  have 
earned  by  patience,  by  constancy,  by  self-control. 
Yes,  I  hate  the  creature  who  is  idiotic  enough  to  put 
honor  between  us,  to  put  religion  between  us,  to  put 
her  soul's  salvation  between  us." 

"  Ella,  Ella,  why  will  you  not  trust  me  ? "  he  said, 
when  she  had  flung  herself  into  a  chair.  He  was 
standing  over  her  with  his  hands  clasped  behind  him. 
He  was  beginning  to  understand  something  of  her 
nature  ;  of  the  nature  of  the  woman  to  whom  love  has 
come  as  a  thief  in  the  night.  He  was  beginning  to 
perceive  that  she  had,  in  her  ignorance,  been  ready  to 
entertain  love  without  knowing  what  was  entailed  by 
entertaining  him.  "  If  you  would  only  trust  me,  all 
would  be  well." 

She  almost  leaped  from  her  chair. 

"Would  it?"  she  cried.  "Would  all  be  well? 
Would  it  be  well  with  my  soul  ?  Would  it  be  well 
with  both  of  us  in  the  future  ?  Would  it  be  well  with 
my  husband  ?  " 

He  laughed. 

"  I  know  your  husband,"  he  said. 

"  And  I  know  him,  too,"  said  she.     "  He  cares  for 


140  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

me  no  more  than  I  care  for  him,  but  he  has  never  been 
otherwise  than  kind  to  me.  I  think  of  him — I  think  of 
him.  I  know  the  name  that  men  give  to  the  man  who 
tries  to  make  his  friend's  wife  love  him.  It  is  not  my 
husband  who  has  earned  that  name,  Mr.  Courtland." 

He  looked  into  her  face,  but  he  spoke  no  word. 
Even  he — the  lover — was  beginning  to  see,  as  in  a 
glass,  darkly,  something  of  the  conflict  that  was  going 
on  in  the  heart  of  the  woman  before  him.  She  had 
uttered  words  against  him  which  had  been  calculated 
to  sting  him,  and  they  had  stung  him,  and  yet  he  had 
a  feeling  that,  if  he  had  put  his  arms  about  her  again, 
she  would  have  held  him  close  to  her  as  she  had  done 
before ;  she  would  have  given  him  kiss  for  kiss  as  she 
had  done  before.  It  is  the  decree  of  nature  that  the 
lover  shall  think  of  himself  only ;  but  had  he  not  told 
Phyllis  that  his  belief  was  that  Nature  and  Satan  were 
the  same  ?  He  was  sometimes  able  to  say,  "  Retro  me, 
Sathana  " — not  always.  He  said  it  now,  but  not  boldly, 
not  loudly — in  a  whisper.  The  best  way  of  putting 
Satan  behind  one  is  to  run  away  from  him.  Resist 
the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you.  Yes,  but,  on  the 
whole,  it  is  safer  to  show  him  a  clean  pair  of  heels 
than  to  enter  on  an  argument  with  him,  hoping  that 
he  will  be  amenable  to  logic.  Herbert  Courtland  said 
said  his,  "Retro  me"  in  a  whisper,  half  hoping,  as  the 
gentlewoman  with  the  muffins  for  sale  hoped,  that  he 
would  escape  notice.  For  a  few  moments  he  ceased 
to  think  of  himself.  He  thought  of  that  beautiful 
thing  before  him — she  was  tall,  and  her  rosy  white 
flesh  was  as  a  peach  that  has  reached  its  one  hour  of 
ripeness — he  thought  of  her  and  pitied  her. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  14* 

He  had  not  the  heart  to  put  his  arms  about  her, 
though  he  knew  that  to  do  so  would  be  to  give  him  all 
the  happiness  for  which  he  longed.  What  was  he  that 
he  should  stand  by  and  see  that  struggle  tearing  her 
heart  asunder  ? 

"  My  poor  child !  "  said  he,  and  then  he  repeated 
his  words,  "  My  poor  child  !  It  would  have  been  bet- 
ter if  "we  had  never  come  together.  We  are  going  to 
part  now." 

She  looked  at  him  and  laughed  in  his  face. 

He  did  not  know  what  this  meant.  Had  she  been 
simply  acting  a  part  all  along?  Had  she  been  playing 
a  comedy  part  all  the  while  he  was  thinking  that  a 
great  tragedy  was  being  enacted  ?  Or  was  it  possible 
that  she  was  mocking  him  ?  that  her  laugh  was  the 
laugh  of  the  jailer  who  hears  a  prisoner  announce  his 
intention  of  walking  out  of  his  cell  ? 

"  Good-by,"  said  he. 

She  fixed  her  eyes  upon  his  face,  then  she  laughed 
again. 

He  now  knew  what  she  meant  by  her  laugh. 

"  Perhaps  you  may  think  that  you  have  too  firm  a 
hold  upon  me  to  give  me  a  chance  of  parting  from 
you,"  said  he.  "  You  may  be  right ;  but  if  you  tell 
me  to  go  I  shall  try  and  obey  you.  But  think  what  it 
means  before  you  tell  me  to  leave  you  forever." 

She  did  think  what  it  meant.  She  looked  at  him, 
and  she  thought  of  his  passing  away  from  her  forever 
more.  She  wondered  what  her  life  would  be  when  he 
should  have  passed  out  of  it.  A  blank  ?  Oh,  worse 
than  a  blank,  for  she  would  have  ever  present  with 
her  the  recollection  of  how  he  had  once  stood  before 


142  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

her  as  he  was  now  standing — tall,  with  his  brown 
hands  clenched,  and  a  paleness  underlying  the  tan  of 
his  face.  "  The  bravest  man  alive  " — that  was  what 
Phyllis  had  called  him,  and  Phyllis  had  been  right. 
He  was  a  man  who  had  fought  his  way  single-handed 
through  such  perils  as  made  those  who  merely  read 
about  them  throb  with  anxiety. 

This  was  the  man  of  whom  she  knew  that-  she 
would  ever  retain  a  memory — this  was  the  man  whom 
she  was  ready  to  send  back  to  the  uttermost  ends  of 
the  earth. 

And  this  was  to  be  the  reward  of  his  devotion  to 
her !  What  was  she  that  she  should  do  this  thing  ? 
What  was  she  that  she  should  refrain  from  sacrificing 
herself  for  him?  She  had  known  women  who  had 
sacrificed  themselves  to  men — such  men !  Wretched 
things!  Not  like  that  man  of  men  who  stood  before 
her  with  such  a  look  on  his  face  as  it  had  worn,  she 
knew,  in  the  most  desperate  moments  of  his  life,  when 
the  next  moment  might  bring  death  to  him — death 
from  an  arrow — from  a  wild  beast — from  a  hurricane. 

What  could  she  do  ? 

She  did  nothing. 

She  made  no  effort  to  save  herself. 

If  he  had  put  his  arms  about  her  and  had  carried 
her  away  from  her  husband's  house  to  the  uttermost 
ends  of  the  earth,  she  would  not  have  resisted.  It  was 
not  in  her  power  to  resist. 

And  it  was  because  he  saw  this  he  went  away,  leaving 
her  standing  with  that  lovely  Venetian  mirror  glittering 
in  silver  and  ruby  and  emerald  just  above  her  head. 

"  You  have  been  right ;  I  have  been  wrong,"  said  he. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  1 43 

"  Don't  try  to  speak,  Ella.  Don't  try  to  keep  me.  I 
know  how  you  love  me,  and  I  know  that  if  I  ask  you 
to  keep  me  you  will  keep  me  until  you  die.  Forgive 
me  for  my  selfishness,  my  beloved.  Good-by." 

She  felt  him  approach  her  and  she  felt  the  hands 
that  he  laid  upon  her  bare  shoulders — one  on  each 
side  of  her  neck.  She  closed  her  eyes  as  he  put  his 
face  down  to  hers  and  kissed  her  on  the  mouth — not 
with  rapturous,  passionate  lips,  but  still  with  warm  and 
trembling  lips.  She  did  not  know  where  the  kiss 
ended,  she  did  not  know  when  his  hands  were  taken  off 
her  shoulders.  She  kept  her  eyes  closed  and  her  mouth 
sealed.  She  did  not  even  give  him  a  farewell  kiss. 

When  she  opened  her  eyes  she  found  herself  alone 
in  the  room. 

And  then  there  came  to  her  ears  the  sound  of  the 
double  whistle  for  a  hansom.  She  stood  silently  there 
listening  to  the  driving  up  of  the  vehicle — she  even 
heard  the  sound  of  the  closing  of  the  apron  and  then 
the  tinkling  of  the  horse's  bells  dwindling  into  the 
distance. 

A  sense  of  loneliness  came  to  her  that  was  over- 
whelming in  its  force. 

"  Fool !  fool !  fool !  "  she  cried,  through  her  set 
teeth.  "  What  have  I  done  ?  Sent  him  away  ?  Sent 
him  away  ?  My  beloved  ! — my  best  beloved — my  man 
of  men.  Gone— gone !  Oh,  fool !  fool !  " 

She  threw  herself  on  a  sofa  and  stared  at  the  Wat- 
teau  group  of  masquerading  shepherds  and  shepherd- 
esses on  the  great  Sevres  vase  that  stood  on  a  pedestal 
near  her.  The  masks  at  the  joining  of  the  handles 
were  of  grinning  satyrs.  They  were  leering  at  her,  she 


144  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

thought.  They  alone  were  aware  of  the  good  reason 
there  was  for  satyrs  to  grin.  A  woman  had  just  sent 
away  from  her,  forever,  the  bravest  man  in  all  the 
world — those  were  Phyllis'  words — a  king  of  men — 
the  one  man  who  loved  her  and  whom  she  loved.  She 
had  pretended  to  him  that  she  was  subject  to  the  in- 
fluences of  religion,  of  honor,  of  duty !  What  hypoc- 
risy !  They  knew  it,  those  leering  creatures — they 
knew  that  she  cared  nothing  for  religion,  that  she  re- 
garded honor  and  duty  as  words  of  no  meaning  when 
such  words  as  love  and  devotion  were  in  the  air. 

She  looked  at  the  satyr  masks,  and  had  anyone  been 
present  in  the  room,  that  one  would  have  seen  that 
her  lovely  face  became  gradually  distorted  until  the 
expression  it  wore  was  precisely  the  same  as  that  upon 
the  masks — an  expression  that  had  its  audible  equiva- 
lent in  the  laugh  which  broke  from  her. 

She  lay  back  on  her  broad  cushions.  One  of  the 
strands  of  her  splendid  hair  had  become  loose,  and 
after  coiling  over  half  a  yard  of  the  brocaded  silk  of  a 
cushion,  twisted  its  way  down  to  the  floor.  She  lay 
back,  pointing  one  finger  at  the  face  on  the  vase  and 
laughing  that  satyr-laugh. 

"  We  know — we  know — we  know!"  she  cried,  and  her 
voice  was  like  that  of  a  drunken  woman.  "  We  know 
all — you  and  I — we  know  the  hypocrisy — the  pretense 
of  religion — of  honor — duty — a  husband  !  Ah,  a  hus- 
band !  that  is  the  funniest  of  all — that  husband  !  We 
know  how  little  we  care  for  them  all." 

She  continued  laughing  until  her  cushion  slipped 
from  under  her  head.  She  half  rose  to  straighten  it, 
and  at  that  instant  she  caught  a  glimpse  of  her  face  in 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  145 

the  center  silvered  panel  of  the  Venetian  mirror.  The 
cry  of  horror  that  broke  from  her  at  that  instant 
seemed  part  of  her  laugh.  It  would  not  have  occurred 
to  anyone  who  might  have  heard  it  that  it  was 
otherwise  than  consistent  with  the  incongruity,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  existing  elements  of  the  scene.  The 
hideous  leer  of  the  thing  with  horns,  looking  down  at 
the  exquisite  picture  of  the  fete  champetre — the  dis- 
torted features  of  the  woman's  face  in  the  center  of 
the  ruby  and  emerald  and  sapphire  of  the  Venetian 
mirror — the  cry  of  horror  mixed  with  the  laugh  of  the 
woman  who  mocked  at  religion  and  honor  and  purity 
— all  were  consistently  incongruous. 

In  another  instant  she  was  lying  on  the  sofa  with 
her  face  down  to  the  cushion,  trying  to  forget  all  that 
she  had  seen  in  the  mirror.  She  wept  her  tears  on  the 
brocaded  silk  for  half  an  hour,  and  then  she  slipped 
from  where  she  was  lying  till  her  knees  were  on  the 
floor.  With  a  hand  clutching  each  side  of  the  cushion 
she  got  rid  of  her  passion  in  prayer. 

"Oh,  God!  God!  keep  him  away  from  me!  keep 
him  away  from  me!  "  was  her  prayer;  and  it  was  pos- 
sibly the  best  that  she  could  have  uttered.  "  Keep 
him  away  from  me  !  keep  him  away  from  me !  Don't 
let  my  soul  be  lost !  Keep  him  away  from  me  !  " 

When  she  struggled  to  her  feet,  at  last,  she  stood  in 
front  of  the  mirror  once  again. 

She  now  saw  a  face  purified  of  all  passion  by  tears 
and  prayer,  where  she  had  seen  the  soulless  face  of  a 
Pagan's  orgy. 

She  went  upstairs  to  her  bed  and  went  asleep,  thank- 
ing God  that  she  had  had  strength  to  send  him  away  ; 


146  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

that  she  had  had  strength  sufficient  to  stand  where  she 
had  stood  in  the  room,  silent,  while  he  had  put  his 
arms  on  her  bare  shoulders  and  had  kissed  her  on  the 
mouth,  saying  "  Good-by." 

She  felt  that  she  had  every  reason  to  thank  God  for 
that  strength,  for  she  knew  that  it  had  been  given  to 
her  at  that  moment ;  it  had  not  sprung  from  within 
her  own  heart ;  her  heart  had  been  crying  out  to  him, 
"  Stay,  stay,  stay !  "  her  heart  took  no  account  of  honor 
or  purity  or  a  husband. 

Yes,  she  felt  that  the  strength  which  had  come  to 
her  at  that  moment  had  been  the  especial  gift  of  God, 
and  she  was  thankful  to  God  for  it. 

That  consciousness  of  gratitude  to  God  was  her  last 
sensation  before  falling  asleep ;  and,  when  morning 
came,  her  first  sensation  was  that  of  having  a  letter  to 
write.  Before  she  had  breakfasted  she  had  written  her 
letter  and  sent  it  to  be  posted. 

This  was  the  letter  : 

"  MY  ONE  LOVE :  I  was  a  fool — oh,  such  a  fool ! 
How  could  I  have  done  it?  How  could  I  have  sent 
you  away  in  such  coldness  last  night  ?  Believe  me, 
it  was  not  I  who  did  it.  How  could  I  have  done  it  ? 
You  know  that  my  love  for  you  is  limitless.  You 
know  that  it  is  my  life.  I  tell  you  that  my  love  for 
you  laughs  at  such  limits  as  are  laid  down  by  religion 
and  honor.  Why  should  I  protest  ?  My  love  is  love, 
and  there  can  be  no  love  where  there  are  any  limits. 

"  Come  to  me  on  Thursday.  I  shall  be  at  home  after 
dinner,  at  nine,  and  see  if  I  am  not  now  in  my  right 
mind.  Come  to  me ;  come  to  me,  Bertie,  my  love." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

"WHAT  AM  I  THAT   I   SHOULD  DO  THIS  THING?" 

"AT  last!" 

He  sat  with  the  letter  before  him  after  he  had  break- 
fasted, and  perhaps  for  a  time,  say  a  minute  or  so,  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  nature  of  the  woman  who  had 
written  those  lines  to  him.  If  he  had  not  had  some 
appreciation  of  her  nature  he  would  have  spent  an 
hour  or  two — perhaps  a  day  or  two — trying  to  reconcile 
her  attitude  of  the  previous  night  with  the  tone  of 
her  letter.  He  did  not,  however,  waste  his  time  over 
such  an  endeavor.  He  knew  that  she  loved  him,  and 
that  she  did  not  love  her  husband.  He  knew  that 
she  had  allowed  him  to  kiss  her,  and  it  had  been  a 
puzzle  to  him  for  some  months  why  she  had  not  come 
to  his  arms  forever — he  meant  her  to  be  his  own 
property  forever.  He  had  been  amazed  to  hear  her 
allude,  as  she  had  done  on  the  previous  night,  to  such 
abstractions  as  honor,  religion,  her  husband.  He 
could  not  see  what  they  had  to  do  with  the  matter 
in  hand.  He  could  not  see  why  such  considerations 
should  be  potent  to  exercise  a  restraining  influence  on 
the  intentions  of  a  man  and  a  woman  who  love  each 
other. 

Well,  now  it  would  appear  that  she  had  cast  to  the 
winds  all  such  considerations  as  she  had  enumerated, 


148  PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1STIA. 

and  was  prepared  to  live  under  the  rule  of  love  alone, 
and  it  was  at  his  suggestion  she  was  doing  so. 

For  a  moment  or  two  he  saw  her  as  she  was :  a 
woman  in  the  midst  of  a  seething  ocean,  throwing  up 
her  hands  and  finding  an  absolute  relief  in  going  down — 
down — down  into  very  hell.  For  a  moment  or  two  his 
heart  was  full  of  pity  for  her.  Who  could  be  a  spec- 
tator of  a  woman's  struggles  for  life  in  the  midst  of  that 
turbulent  sea  of  passion  which  was  overwhelming  her, 
and  refrain  from  feeling  pity?  That  letter  which  lay 
before  him  represented  the  agonizing  cry  of  a  drown- 
ing creature ;  one  whom  the  long  struggle  has  made 
delirious ;  one  who  looks  forward  to  going  down  with 
the  delight  born  of  delirium. 

He  recollected  a  picture  which  he  had  once  seen — 
the  picture  of  a  drowning  woman.  He  saw  it  now 
before  him  with  hideous  vividness,  and  the  face  of  the 
woman  was  the  face  of  Ella  Linton.  The  agony  of 
that  last  fight  with  an  element  that  was  overpowering, 
overwhelming  in  its  ruthless  strength,  was  shown  upon 
every  feature,  and  his  soul  was  filled  with  pity. 

He  sprang  to  his  feet  and  crushed  the  letter  into  his 
pocket.  He  felt  none  of  the  exultation  of  the  hunts- 
man— only  sadness  at  the  fate  of  the  hunted  thing 
that  lay  at  his  feet.  Once  before  the  same  feeling  had 
come  over  him.  It  was  when,  after  the  long  struggle 
up  the  river,  through  the  forests,  swamps,  jungle  grass 
that  cut  the  body  of  a  man  as  though  it  were  sharp 
wire,  he  fired  his  shot  and  the  meteor-bird  fell  at  his 
feet.  After  the  first  few  panting  breaths  that  came  to 
him  he  had  stood  leaning  on  his  gun,  looking  down  at 
that  beautiful  thing  which  he  had  deprived  of  life. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHI  LIST! A.  149 

"  What  am  I  that  I  should  have  done  this  thing?" 
lie  had  asked  himself  on  that  evening,  while  the  blacks 
had  yelled  around  him  like  devils. 

"  What  am  I  that  I  should  do  this  thing  ?  "  was  his 
cry  now,  as  the  voice  of  many  demons  sounded  in  his 
ears. 

What  was  he  that  he  should  rejoice  at  receiving  that 
letter  from  the  woman  over  whose  head  the  waters 
were  closing? 

He  ordered  his  horse  and,  mounting  it,  rode  to 
where  he  could  put  it  to  the  gallop.  So  men  try  to 
leave  behind  them  the  sneering  demons  of  conscience 
and  self-reproach.  Some  of  them  succeed  in  doing  so, 
but  find  the  pair  waiting  for  them  on  their  own  door- 
step. Herbert  Courtland  galloped  his  horse  intermit- 
tently for  an  hour  or  two,  and  then  rode  leisurely  back 
to  his  rooms.  He  felt  that  he  had  got  the  better  of 
those  two  enemies  of  his  who  had  been  irritating  him. 
He  heard  their  voices  no  longer.  He  had  lost  them 
(he  fancied),  because  there  had  come  to  him  another 
voice  that  said  : 

"  I  love  her — I  love  her." 

And  whensoever  that  voice  comes  to  a  man  as  it 
came  to  Herbert  Courtland  it  drowns  all  other  voices. 
He  would  love  her  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Their  life 
together  would  be  the  real  life  for  which  men  and 
women  have  come  into  the  world.  He  would  go  to 
her,  and  so  far  from  allowing  her  to  sink  beneath  the 
waters  down  to  hell,  his  arms  would  r^e  around  her  to 
bear  her  up  until — well,  is  it  not  generally  conceded 
that  love  is  heaven  and  heaven  is  love? 

He  seated  himself  at  a  desk  and   wrote  tocher  an 


150  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

impassioned  line.  He  would  go  to  her,  he  said.  If 
death  should  come  to  him  next  day  he  would  still 
thank  God  for  having  given  him  an  hour  of  life. 

That  was  what  he  said — all.  It  expressed  pretty 
well  what  he  felt  he  should  feel.  That  reference  to 
God  she  would,  of  course,  understand.  God  was  to 
him  a  Figure  of  Speech.  He  had  said  as  much  to 
Phyllis  Ayrton.  But  then  he  had  said  that  he  had 
regarded  God  to  mean  the  Power  by  which  men  were 
able  (sometimes)  successfully  to  combat  the  influences 
of  nature.  But  had  he  not  just  made  up  his  mind  to 
yield  to  that  passion  which  God,  as  a  Principle,  has  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  opposing  ?  Why,  then,  should  he 
expect  that  Ella  would  understand  precisely  what  he 
meant  in  saying  that  he  would  thank  God  for  his  hour 
of  life,  his  hour  of  love  ? 

He  would  have  had  considerable  difficulty  in 
explaining  this  apparent  discrepancy  between  his 
scheme  of  philosophy  and  his  life  as  a  man,  had  Phyl- 
lis asked  him  to  do  so ;  and  Phyllis  would  certainly 
have  asked  him  to  do  so  had  she  become  acquainted 
with  the  contents  of  his  letter  to  her  friend  Ella ; 
though  Phyllis'  father,  having  acquired  some  knowledge 
of  men  as  well  as  of  phrases,  would  not  have  asked  for 
any  explanation,  knowing  that  a  man's  philosophy  is, 
in  its  relation  to  a  man's  life,  a  good  deal  less  important 
than  the  fuse  is  to  a  bomb.  He  would  have  known 
that  a  scheme  of  philosophy  no  more  brings  wisdom 
into  a  man's  life  than  a  telescope  brings  the  moon 
nearer  to  the  earth.  He  would  have  known  that  for  a 
man  to  build  up  a  doctrine  of  philosophy  around  him- 
self, hoping  that  the  devil  will  keep  on  the  other  side 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  151 

of  the  paling,  is  as  ridiculous  as  it  is  to  raise  a  stockade 
of  roses  against  a  tiger. 

Herbert  Courtland,  however,  thought  neither  of 
philosophical  consistency  nor  of  the  advantages  of 
having  on  one's  side  a  sound  Principle.  He  thought 
of  the  stockade  of  roses,  not  to  keep  out  the  beast 
but  to  keep  love  in.  They  would  live  together  in  the 
midst  of  roses  forever,  and  though  each  might  pos- 
sibly lose  something  by  the  transaction,  yet  what  they 
might  lose  was  nothing  compared  to  what  they  should 
certainly  win.  Of  that  he  was  certain,  and  therefore 
he  posted  his  impassioned  line  with  a  light  heart. 

That  was  on  Tuesday.  He  had  still  two  days  that 
he  might  employ  thinking  over  the  enterprise  to  which 
he  was  committed  ;  and  he  certainly  made  the  most 
of  his  time  in  this  direction.  Now  and  again,  as  he 
thought  of  what  was  in  store  for  him — for  her — he  felt 
as  if  he  were  lifted  off  the  earth,  and  at  other  times  he 
felt  that  he  was  crushed  into  the  earth — crushed  into 
it  until  he  had  become  incapable  of  any  thought  that 
was  not  of  the  earth,  earthy.  At  such  moments  he 
felt  inclined  to  walk  down  to  the  docks  and  step 
aboard  the  first  vessel  that  was  sailing  eastward  or 
westward  or  northward  or  southward.  Then  it  was 
that  he  found  but  the  scantiest  comfort  in  the  con- 
sideration of  the  loveliness  of  love.  Glorifying  life ! 
No,  corrupting  life  until  life  is  more  putrid  than 
death. 

That  was  what  love  was — something  to  fly  from. 
But  still  he  did  not  fly  from  the  vision  that  came  to 
him  when  he  found  himself  alone  after  spending  the 
evenings  in  brilliant  company — a  vision  of  the  lovely 


152  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

woman  who  was  waiting  for  him  !  What  had  she  said  ? 
Her  soul — her  soul  would  be  lost  for  evermore  ? 

Well,  that  showed  that  she  was  a  woman,  at  any 
rate,  and  he  loved  her  all  the  better  for  her  woman- 
liness. He  knew  very  well  that  if  God  is  a  Figure  of 
Speech  with  men,  the  losing  of  a  soul  is  a  figure  of 
speech  with  women.  The  expression  means  only  that 
they  have  lost  the  chance  of  drinking  a  number  of  cups 
of  tea  in  drawing  rooms  whose  doors  are  now  shut  to 
them.  That  was  what  Ella  meant,  no  doubt.  If  she 
were  openly  to  set  at  defiance  certain  of  those  laws  by 
the  aid  of  which  society  was  kept  together  with  a 
moderate  degree  of  consistency,  she  would  be  treated 
as  an  outlaw. 

After  all,  such  a  fate  was  not  without  its  bright  side. 
Some  happiness  may  remain  to  human  beings  in  that 
world  which  is  on  the  hither  side  of  London  drawing 
rooms;  and  it  would  be  his  aim  in  life  to  see  that  she 
had  all  the  happiness  that  the  world  could  give  her. 

Pah !  He  felt  his  sentiment  becoming  a  trifle  brack- 
ish. He  loved  her,  and  she  loved  him.  That  was 
more  than  all  the  laws  and  the  profits  of  society  to 
them.  That  was  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the 
whole  matter — the  origin  of  the  sin  (people  called  it  a 
sin)  and  the  exculpation  of  the  sinners.  There  was 
nothing  more  to  be  said  or  thought  about  the  matter. 
Those  who  loved  would  understand.  Those  who  did 
not  understand  would  condemn,  and  the  existence  of 
either  class  was  of  no  earthly  importance  to  himself  or 
to  Ella. 

When  he  awoke  on  the  Thursday  morning  the  feel- 
ing of  exultation  of  which  he  was  conscious  was  not 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  153 

without  a  note  of  depression.  So  it  had  been  when 
the  object  of  his  explorations  in  New  Guinea  had  been 
attained,  and  he  looked  down  at  that  exquisite  thing — 
that  dead  splendor  at  his  feet. 

He  wondered  if  the  attainment  of  every  great  object 
which  a  man  may  have  in  life  brings  about  a  feeling 
of  sadness  that  almost  neutralizes  the  exultation.  As 
he  picked  up  his  letters  he  had  a  fear  that  among  them 
there  might  be  one  from  Ella,  telling  him  that  she  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  she  had  written  too 
hastily  those  lines  which  he  had  received  on  Tuesday 
— that,  on  consideration,  she  was  unwilling  to  lose  her 
soul  for  love  of  him. 

No  such  letter,  however,  was  among  his  correspond- 
ence. (Could  it  be  possible  that  he  was  disappointed 
on  account  of  this?)  He  received  an  intimation  from 
Berlin  of  the  conferring  of  an  order  upon  him  in 
recognition  of  his  exploration  of  a  territory  in  which 
Germany  was  so  greatly  interested.  He  received  an 
intimation  from  Vienna  that  a  gold  medal  had  been 
voted  to  him  by  one  of  the  learned  societies  in  recog- 
nition of  his  contributions  to  biological  science.  He 
received  an  intimation  from  his  publishers  that  they 
had  just  gone  to  press  with  another  thousand  (the 
twelfth)  of  his  book,  and  he  received  thirteen  cards  of 
invitation  to  various  functions  to  take  place  in  from 
three  to  six  weeks'  time,  but  no  line  did  he  receive 
from  Ella. 

She  was  his  forever  and  ever,  whether  her  soul 
would  be  lost  or  saved  in  consequence. 

He  rather  thought  that  it  would  be  lost ;  but  that 
did  not  matter.  She  was  his  forever  and  ever. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

"HERBERT   COURTLAND    IS   A    MAN   WHO    HAS    LIVED 
WITH   HONOR." 

IT  was  a  long  day. 

Toward  evening  he  recollected  that  he  had  to  leave 
cards  upon  his  host  and  hostess  of  the  Monday  pre- 
vious, but  it  was  past  six  o'clock  when  he  found  him- 
self at  the  top  of  the  steps  of  Mr.  Ayrton's  house. 
Before  his  ring  had  been  responded  to  a  victoria  drove 
up  with  Phyllis,  and  in  a  moment  she  was  on  the  step 
beside  him. 

She  looked  radiant  in  the  costume  which  she  was 
wearing.  He  thought  he  had  never  seen  a  lovelier 
girl — he  was  certain  that  he  had  never  seen  a  better- 
dressed  girl.  (Mr.  Courtland  was  not  clever  enough 
to  know  that  it  is  only  the  beautiful  girls  who  seem 
well  dressed  in  the  eyes  of  men.)  There  was  a  certain 
frankness  in  her  face  that  made  it  very  interesting — 
the  frankness  of  a  child  who  looks  into  the  face  of  the 
world  and  wonders  at  its  reticence.  He  felt  her  soft 
gray  eyes  resting  upon  his  face,  as  she  shook  hands  with 
him  and  begged  him  to  go  in  and  have  tea  with  her. 
He  felt  strangely  uneasy  under  her  eyes  this  evening, 
and  his  self-possession  failed  him  so  far  as  to  make  it 
impossible  for  him  to  excuse  himself.  It  did  not  occur 
to  him  to  say  that  he  could  not  drink  tea  with  her  on 
account  of  having  an  appointment  which  he  could  not 

'54 


PHYLLIS    OF  PHILISTIA.  155 

break  through  without  the  most  deplorable  results. 
He  felt  himself  led  by  her  into  one  of  her  drawing 
rooms,  and  sitting  with  his  back  to  the  window  while 
her  frank  eyes  remained  on  his  face,  asking  (so  he 
thought)  for  the  nearest  approach  to  their  frankness 
in  response,  that  a  man  who  has  lived  in  the  world 
of  men  dare  offer  to  a  maiden  whose  world  is  within 
herself. 

"  Oh,  yes !  I  got  the  usual  notification  of  the  Order 
of  the  Bald  Eagle,"  said  he,  in  reply  to  her  inquiry. 
"  I  shall  wear  it  next  my  heart  until  I  die.  The  news- 
papers announced  the  honor  that  had  been  done  to 
me  the  same  morning." 

"  You  cannot  keep  anything  out  of  the  papers,"  said 
Phyllis. 

"  Even  if  you  want  to — a  condition  which  doesn't 
apply  to  my  case,"  said  he.  "  My  publishers  admitted 
to  me  last  week  that  they  wouldn't  rest  easy  if  any 
newspaper  appeared  during  the  next  month  without 
my  name  being  in  its  columns  in  some  place." 

"  I'm  sure  they  were  delighted  at  the  development  of 
the  Spiritual  Aneroid's  attack  upon  you,"  said  Phyllis. 

"  They  told  me  I  was  a  made  man,"  said  he. 

She  threw  back  her  head — it  was  her  way — and 
laughed.  Her  laughter — all  the  grace  of  girlhood  was 
in  its  ring ;  it  was  girlhood  made  audible — was  lighten- 
ing her  fair  face  as  she  looked  at  him. 

"  How  funny  !  "  she  cried.  "  You  fight  your  way 
through  the  New  Guinea  forests ;  you  are  in  daily 
peril  of  your  life  ;  you  open  up  a  new  country,  and 
yet  you  are  not  a  made  man  until  you  are  attacked 
by  a  wretched  newspaper." 


156  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  That  is  the  standpoint  of  the  people  who  sell 
books,  so  you  may  depend  upon  its  being  the  stand- 
point of  the  people  who  buy  books,"  said  he. 

"  I  can  quite  believe  it,"  said  she.  "  Mr.  Geraint, 
the  novelist,  took  me  down  to  dinner  at  Mrs.  Lemuel's 
last  night,  and  he  told  me  that  the  only  thing  that  will 
make  people  buy  books  is  seeing  the  author's  portrait 
in  some  of  the  illustrated  papers,  or  hearing  from  some 
of  the  interviews  which  are  published  regarding  him 
that  he  never  could  take  sugar  in  his  coffee.  The 
reviews  of  his  books  are  read  only  by  his  brother 
authors,  and  they  never  buy  a  book,  Mr.  Geraint  says  ; 
but  the  interviews  are  read  by  the  genuine  buyers." 

"  Mr.  Geraint  knows  his  public,  I'm  sure." 

"  I  fancy  he  does.  He  would  be  very  amusing  if  he 
didn't  aim  so  persistently  at  going  one  better  than 
someone  else  in  his  anecdotes.  People  were  talking 
at  dinner  about  your  having  massacred  the  natives 
with  dynamite — you  did,  you  know,  Mr.  Courtland." 

"  Oh,  yes ;  I  have  admitted  so  much  long  ago. 
There  was  no  help  for  it." 

"Well,  of  course  everyone  was  laughing  when  papa 
told  how  the  massacre  came  about,  and  this  annoyed 
Mr.  Geraint  and  induced  him  to  tell  a  story  about  a 
poor  woman  who  fancied  that  melinite  -was  a  sort  of 
food  for  children  that  caused  their  portraits  to  appear 
in  the  advertisements ;  so  she  bought  a  tin  of  it  and 
gave  it  all  to  her  little  boy  at  one  meal.  It  so  hap- 
pened, however,  that  he  became  restless  during  the 
night  and  fell  out  of  his  cradle.  That  happened  a 
year  ago,  Mr.  Geraint  said,  and  yet  the  street  isn't 
quite  ready  for  traffic  yet." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  157 

"  That  little  anecdote  of  Mr.  Geraint  makes  me  feel 
very  meek.  If  at  any  time  I  am  tempted  to  think 
with  pride  upon  my  dynamite  massacre,  I  shall  re- 
.member  Mr.  Geraint's  story,  and  hang  my  head." 

"  We  were  all  amused  at  Mr.  Geraint's  lively  imagi- 
nation, but  much  more  so  when  Mr.  Topham,  the 
under-secretary,  shook  his  head  gravely,  and  said 
in  his  most  dignified  manner,  that  he  thought  the 
reported  occurrence — the  melinite  incident — quite 
improbable.  He  was  going  on  to  explain  that  the 
composition  of  the  explosive  differed  so  materially 
from  that  of  the  food  it  would  be  almost  impossible 
for  any  mother  to  take  the  one  for  the  other,  when 
our  hostess  rose." 

"  Mr.  Topham  must  have  been  disappointed.  As  a 
demonstrator  of  the  obvious  he  has  probably  no  equal 
even  among  the  under-secretaries.  You  discussed  him 
pretty  freely  in  the  drawing  room  afterward,  I  may 
venture  to  suggest." 

"  No  ;  we  discussed  you,  Mr.  Courtland." 

"  A  most  unprofitable  topic.  From  what  stand- 
point— dynamite  massacres  ?  " 

"  From  the  standpoint  of  heredity,  of  course.  Can 
you  imagine  any  topic  being  discussed  in  a  drawing 
room,  nowadays,  from  any  other  standpoint  ?  There 
was  a  dear  old  lady  present,  Mrs.  Haddon,  and  she 
said  she  had  been  a  friend  of  your  mother's." 

"  So  she  was ;  I  recollect  her  very  well.  I  should 
like  to  go  to  see  her." 

"  She  told  us  a  great  deal  about  your  mother,  and 
your  sister — a  sister  to  whom  you  were  greatly  at- 
tached." 


IS8  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Phyllis'  voice  had  become  low  and  serious ;  every 
tone  suggested  sympathy. 

"  I  had  such  a  sister,"  said  he  slowly.  His  eyes 
were  not  turned  toward  her.  They  were  fixed  upon  a 
little  model  of  St.  Catherine  of  Siena, — a  virgin  among 
the  clouds, — which  was  set  in  the  panel  of  an  old 
cabinet  beside  him.  "  I  had  such  a  sister — Rosa- 
mund ;  she  is  dead." 

"Mrs.  Haddon  told  us  so,"  said  Phyllis.  "She 
talked  about  your  mother,  and  your  sister,  and  of  the 
influence  which  they  had  had  upon  your  life — your 
career." 

"  They  are  both  dead,"  said  he. 

"  They  did  not  live  to  see  your  triumph  ;  that  is 
what  your  tone  suggests,"  said  she.  "  That  is  what 
Mrs.  Haddon  said — the  tears  were  in  her  eyes — last 
night,  Mr.  Courtland.  I  wish  you  could  have  heard 
her.  I  wish  you  could  have  heard  what  she  said  when 
someone  made  a  commonplace  remark  as  to  how  sad 
it  was  they  were  dead." 

"  What  did  she  say,  Miss  Ayrton  ?  " 

"  She  said,  '  No,  no  ;  please  do  not  talk  about  death 
overtaking  such  as  they.  The  mother,  who  transmits 
her  nature  to  her  son,  renews  her  life  in  him ;  it  is  not 
he,  but  his  mother,  who  lives.'  And  then  she  asked, 
'  Do  you  suppose  that  Herbert  Courtland  ever  sets  out 
on  any  of  his  great  enterprises  without  thinking  of  his 
mother  and  sister,  without  feeling  that  he  must  do 
something  worthy  of  them,  something  for  their  sake  ? 
And  you  talk  of  them  as  if  they  were  dead — as  if  they 
had  passed  away  forever  from  the  concerns  of  earth ! ' 
That  is  what  she  said,  Mr.  Courtland." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  1 59 

He  had  bent  forward  on  his  low  seat,  and  was  lean- 
ing his  head  on  one  of  his  hands.  He  had  his  eyes 
fixed  on  the  parquet  of  the  floor.  He  was  motionless. 
He  did  not  speak  a  word. 

"  Mrs.  Haddon  said  something  more,"  Phyllis  con- 
tinued, after  a  pause.  Her  voice  had  fallen  still 
another  tone.  "  '  Yes,'  she  said,  as  if  musing, '  dead- 
dead  !  A  man  is  as  his  mother  has  made  him.  He  is 
with  her  from  the  moment  she  loves  his  father.  She 
is  evermore  thinking  of  him  ;  he  is  precious  to  her  be- 
fore the  mystery  of  his  birth  is  revealed  to  her.  He 
grows  up  by  her  side,  and  loves  her  because  he  knows 
that  she  understands  him.  She  does  understand  him, 
and  she  understands  his  father  better  by  understand- 
ing her  son.'  She  said  that,  Mr.  Courtland,  and  I  felt 
that  she  had  spoken  one  of  the  greatest  truths  of  this 
mysterious  life  of  ours.  Then  she  said,  '  Herbert 
Courtland  is  a  man  who  has  lived  with  honor  to  him- 
self, with  honor  to  the  memory  of  his  mother,  and  of 
his  sister,  whom  he  loved.  He  is  a  man,  and  he  has 
not  merely  attained  distinction  in  the  world  ;  if  he  is 
without  fear,  he  is  also  without  reproach  ;  and  ask 
him  if  he  has  not  been  strengthened  in  his  fight  with 
whatever  of  base  may  have  risen  up  within  him,  being 
a  man,  from  day  to  day,  by  the  thought  that  his  sister 
is  one  with  him ;  that  his  purity  of  heart  and  of  act  is 
the  purity  of  his  mother  and  his  sister ;  his  honor  is 
the  honor  of  his  mother  and  his  sister,  upon  which  no 
stain  must  ever  come.'  That  was  all  she  said,  Mr. 
Courtland." 

There  was  a  long  pause  after  she  had  spoken.  He 
sat  there  with  his  head  bent,  his  fingers  interlaced. 


160  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILIST1A. 

He  had  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  floor.     His  cup  of  tea 
stood  untasted  beside  him  on  a  little  Algerian  table. 

And  she — as  she  looked  at  him  her  soft  eyes  became 
dim  with  tears.  She  knew  that  the  words  which  she 
had  spoken,  the  words  which  she  had  repeated  as  they 
were  spoken  by  the  lady  whom  she  had  met  the  pre- 
vious night,  had  awakened  many  memories  within  him. 
She  too  had  her  memories.  She  knew  that  there  was 
a  certain  gratefulness  in  the  midst  of  the  bitterness  of 
such  memories. 

That  was  all  she  knew. 

And  the  tears  continued  to  well  up  to  her  eyes  until 
she  was  aware  that  he  had  risen  from  his  seat  and  was 
standing  in  front  of  her.  •  She  drew  her  hand  across 
her  eyes.  She  saw  a  movement  in  his  lips.  They 
were  trembling,  but  no  sound  came  from  them.  The 
hand  that  he  stretched  out  to  her  was  trembling  also. 
She  put  her  own  into  it.  He  held  her  hand  tightly 
for  a  moment,  then  dropped  it  suddenly  and  almost 
fled  from  the  room,  without  uttering  a  word. 

For  a  few  moments  she  stood  where  he  had  left  her, 
and  then  she  went  to  a  sofa  and  seated  herself  upon  it. 
The  tears  that  had  come  to  her  eyes  before,  now  began 
to  fall ;  she  thought,  girl  that  she  was,  that  she  could 
understand  what  were  the  feelings  of  the  man  who  had 
just  parted  from  her.  She  thought  that  he  was  over- 
come  at  the  reflection  that  the  distinction  which  he 
had  won  in  the  world  could  not  be  shared  by  those 
Avhom  he  loved,  those  who  would  have  valued  far  more 
than  he  did  the  honor  that  was  being  done  to  him. 

The  pity  of  it !     Oh,  the  pity  of  it ! 

Ella  had  told  her  one  day  when  they  had  talked 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  161 

together  about  Herbert  Courtland,  that  he  had  no 
relation  alive,  that  he  stood  alone  in  the  world.  The 
information  had  not  meant  much  to  her  then  ;  but 
when  she  had  heard  Mrs.  Haddon  speak  on  the  pre- 
vious evening  about  his  attachment  to  his  mother  and 
his  sister,  she  remembered  what  Ella  had  said,  and  her 
heart  was  full  of  pity  for  him.  She  had  made  up  her 
mind  to  tell  him  all  that  Mrs.  Haddon  had  said,  for 
surely  more  sympathetic  words  had  never  been 
spoken ;  and  her  opportunity  had  come  sooner  than 
she  expected.  Their  chat  together  had  led  naturally 
up  to  Mrs.  Haddon,  and  she  had  been  able  to  repeat 
to  him  almost  word  for  word  all  {hat  his  mother's 
friend  had  said. 

Her  heart  felt  for  him.  Surely  the  sweetest  reward 
that  can  come  to  a  man  who  has  toiled  and  fought  and 
conquered  was  denied  to  the  man  who  had  just  parted 
from  her.  He  had  toiled  and  conquered  ;  but  not  for 
him  was  the  joy  of  seeing  pride  on  the  face  of  those 
who  claimed  him  as  their  kin.  His  father  had  been 
killed  when  he  had  charged  with  his  brigade  through 
the  lines  of  a  stubborn  enemy — everyone  knew  the 
story.  His  mother  and  sister  had  died  when  he  was 
beginning  to  make  a  name  for  himself.  He  had  gone 
forth  from  the  loneliness  of  his  home  to  the  loneliness 
of  the  tropical  forest ;  and  he  had  returned  to  the 
loneliness  of  London. 

She  felt  that  she  had  done  well  to  repeat  to  him 
the  words  of  his  mother's  friend.  Those  words  had 
affected  him  deeply.  They  could  not  but  be  a  source 
of  comfort  to  him  when  he  was  overwhelmed  with  the 
thought  of  his  loneliness.  They  would  make  him  feel 


1 62  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

that  his  position  was  understood  by  some  people  who 
were  able  to  think  of  him  apart  from  the  great  work 
which  he  had  accomplished. 

Thus  the  maiden  sat  musing  in  the  silent  room  after 
she  had  dried  her  tears  of  pity  for  the  man  who  an 
hour  before  had  sauntered  up  to  her  door  thinking, 
not  of  the  melancholy  isolation  of  his  position  in  the 
world,  but  simply  that  two  hours  of  the  longest  day  of 
his  life  must  pass  before  he  could  kiss  the  lips  of  the 
woman  who  had  given  herself  up  to  him. 

Her  maid  found  her  still  seated  on  the  sofa,  and 
ventured  to  remind  her  that  time  was  fugitive,  and 
that  if  mademoiselle  still  retained  her  intention  of 
going  to  Lady  Earlscourt's  dinner  party, — Lady  Earls- 
court  was  giving  a  dinner  party  apparently  for  the 
purpose  of  celebrating  her  husband's  departure  for  a 
cruise  in  Norwegian  fjords  in  his  yacht, — it  would  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  mademoiselle  to  permit  her- 
self to  be  dressed  without  delay. 

Phyllis  sprang  up  with  a  little  laugh  that  sounded 
like  a  large  sigh,  and  said  if  Fidele  would  have  the 
kindness  to  switch  on  the  lights  in  the  dressing  room, 
she  would  not  be  kept  waiting  a  moment. 

The  maid  hurried  upstairs,  and  mademoiselle  repaired 
to  an  apartment  where  she  could  remove,  so  far  as  was 
possible,  the  footmarks  left  by  those  tears  which  she 
had  shed  when  she  had  reflected  upon  the  loneliness 
to  which  Mr.  Herbert  Courtland  was  doomed  for 
(probably)  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Mademoiselle  had  a  dread  of  the  acuteness  of  vision 
with  which  her  maid  was  endowed.  She  was  not 
altogether  sure  that  Fidele  would  be  capable  of  under- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  163 

standing  the  emotion  that  had  forced  those  tears  to 
her  eyes. 

But  that  was  just  where  she  was  wrong.  Fidele  was 
capable  of  understanding  that  particular  emotion  a 
good  deal  better  than  mademoiselle  understood  it. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

"THEY  HAVE   SOULS  TO  BE   SAVED." 

WHEN  Lord  Earlscourt  was  at  home  the  only  two 
topics  that  were  debarred  from  the  dinner  table  were 
religion  and  politics ;  but  when  Lord  Earlscourt  was 
absent  these  were  the  only  two  topics  admitted  at 
the  dinner  table.  Lady  Earlscourt  had  views,  well- 
defined,  clearly  outlined,  on  both  religion  and  politics, 
and  she  greatly  regretted  that  there  still  remained 
some  people  in  the  world  who  held  other  views  on 
both  subjects;  it  was  very  sad — for  them;  and  she 
felt  that  it  was  clearly  her  duty  to  endeavor  by  all  the 
legitimate  means  in  her  power — say,  dinner  parties  for 
eight — to  reduce  the  number  of  these  persons.  It  was 
rumored  that  in  the  country  she  had  shown  herself 
ready  to  effect  her  excellent  object  by  illegitimate 
means — say,  jelly  and  flannel  petticoats — as  well. 

She  wore  distinctly  evangelical  boots,  though,  in 
the  absence  of  her  husband,  she  had  expressed  her 
willingness  to  discuss  the  advantages  of  the  confes- 
sional. She  had,  however,  declined,  in  the  presence  of 
her  husband,  to  entertain  the  dogma  of  infallibility: 
though  she  admitted  that  the  cardinals  were  showy ; 
she  would  have  liked  one  about  her  house,  say,  as  a 
footman.  She  thought  there  was  a  great  deal  in  Bud- 
dhism (she  had  read  "  The  Light  of  Asia "  nearly 
through),  and  she  believed  that  the  Rev.  George  Hol- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1STIA.  165 

land  had  been  badly  treated  by  Phyllis  Ayrton.  She 
admitted  having  been  young  once — only  once ;  but  no 
one  seemed  to  remember  it  against  her,  so  she  was 
obliged  to  talk  about  it  herself,  which  she  did  with  the 
lightness  of  a  serious  woman  of  thirty-two.  When  a 
man  had  assured  her  that  she  was  still  handsome,  she 
had  shaken  her  head  deprecatingly,  and  had  ignored 
his  existence  ever  after.  She  had  her  doubts  regarding 
the  justice  of  eternal  punishment  for  temporary  lapses 
in  the  West  End,  but  she  sympathized  with  the  mis- 
sionary who  said  :  "Thank  God  we  have  still  got  our 
hell  in  the  East  End."  She  knew  that  all  men  are 
alike  in  the  sight  of  Heaven,  but  she  thought  that  the 
licensing  justices  should  be  more  particular. 

She  believed  that  there  were  some  good  men. 

She  had  more  than  once  talked  seriously  to  Phyllis 
on  the  subject  of  George  Holland.  Of  course,  George 
Holland  had  been  indiscreet ;  the  views  expressed  in 
his  book  had  shocked  his  best  friends,  but  think  how 
famous  that  book  had  made  him,  in  spite  of  the  publi- 
cation of  Mr.  Courtland's  "  Quest  of  the  Meteor-bird." 
Was  Phyllis  not  acting  unkindly,  not  to  say  indis- 
creetly, in  throwing  over  a  man  who,  it  was  rumored, 
was  about  to  start  a  new  religion  ?  She  herself,  Lady 
Earlscourt  admitted,  had  been  very  angry  with  George 
Holland  for  writing  something  that  the  newspapers 
found  it  to  their  advantage  to  abuse  so  heartily ;  and 
Lord  Earlscourt,  being  a  singularly  sensitive  man,  had 
been  greatly  worried  by  the  comments  which  had 
been  passed  upon  his  discrimination  in  intrusting  to  a 
clergyman  who  could  bring  himself  to  write  "  Revised 
Versions  "  a  curd  of  such  important  souls  as  were 


1 66  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

to  be  found  at  St.  Chad's.  He  had,  in  fact,  been  so 
harassed — he  was  a  singularly  sensitive  man — that  he 
had  found  it  absolutely  necessary  to  run  across  to  Paris 
from  time  to  time  for  a  change  of  scene.  (This  was 
perfectly  true.  Lord  Earlscourt  had  gone  more  than 
once  to  Paris  for  a  change  of  scene,  and  had  found  it ; 
Lady  Earlscourt  was  thirty-two,  and  wore  evangelical 
boots.)  But,  of  course,  since  George  Holland's  enter- 
prise had  turned  out  so  well  socially,  people  who  enter- 
tained could  not  be  hard  on  him.  There  was  the  new 
religion  to  be  counted  upon.  It  was  just  as  likely  as 
not  that  he  would  actually  start  a  new  religion,  and 
you  can't  be  hard  upon  a  man  who  starts  a  new 
religion.  There  was  Buddha,  for  instance, — that  was 
a  long  time  ago,  to  be  sure ;  but  still  there  he  was,  the 
most  important  factor  to  be  considered  in  attempting 
to  solve  the  great  question  of  the  reconcilement  of 
the  religions  of  the  East, — Buddha,  and  Wesley,  and 
Edward  Irving,  and  Confucius,  and  General  Booth ;  if 
you  took  them  all  seriously  where  would  you  be  ? 

"  Oh,  no,  my  dear  Phyllis  !  "  continued  Lady  Earls- 
court ;  "  you  must  not  persist  in  your  ill-treatment  of 
Mr.  Holland.  If  you  do  he  may  marry  someone  else." 

Phyllis  shook  her  head. 

"  I  hope  he  will,  indeed,"  said  she.  "  He  certainly 
will  never  marry  me." 

"  Do  not  be  obdurate,"  said  Lady  Earlscourt.  "  He 
may  not  really  believe  in  all  that  he  put  into  that  book." 

"  Then  there  is  no  excuse  for  his  publishing  it,"  said 
Phyllis  promptly. 

"  But  if  he  doesn't  actually  hold  the  views  which 
he  has  formulated  in  that  book,  you  cannot  con- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  167 

sistently  reject  him  on  the  plea  that  he  is  not  quite — 
well,  not  quite  what  you  and  I  call  orthodox." 

This  contention  was  too  plain  to  be  combated  by 
the  girl.  She  did  not  for  a  moment  see  her  way  out 
of  the  amazing  logic  of  the  lady.  Quite  a  minute  had 
passed  before  she  said  : 

"  If  he  propounds  such  views  without  having  a  firm 
conviction  that  they  are  true,  he  has  acted  a  con- 
temptible part,  Lady  Earlscourt.  I  think  far  too 
highly  of  him  to  entertain  for  a  single  moment  the 
idea  that  he  is  not  sincere." 

"  But  if  you  believe  that  he  is  sincere,  why  should 
you  say  that  you  will  not  marry  him  ?  " 

"  I  would  not  marry  an  atheist,  however  sincere  he 
might  be." 

"An  atheist!  But  Mr.  Holland  is  not  an  atheist; 
on  the  contrary,  he  actually  believes  that  there  are  two 
Gods ;  one  worshiped  of  the  Jews  long  ago,  the  other 
by  us  nowadays.  An  atheist !  Oh,  no !  " 

"  I'm  afraid  that  I  can't  explain  to  you,  dear  Lady 
Earlscourt." 

Once  more  Phyllis  shook  her  head  with  some  degree 
of  sadness.  She  felt  that  it  would  indeed  be  impos- 
sible for  jier  to  explain  to  this  lady  of  logic  that  she 
believed  the  truth  to  be  a  horizon  line,  and  that  any 
opinion  which  was  a  little  above  this  line  was  as 
abhorrent  as  any  that  was  a  little  below  it. 

"  If  you  are  stubborn,  God  may  marry  you  to  a  Dis- 
senter yet,"  said  Lady  Earlscourt  solemnly. 

Phyllis  smiled  and  shook  her  head  again. 

"  Oh,  you  needn't  shake  your  head,  my  dear," 
resumed  Lady  Earlscourt.  "  I've  known  of  such 


168  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1L1ST1A. 

judgments  falling  on  girls  before  now — yes,  when  the 
Dissenters  were  well  off.  But  no  Dissenter  rides 
straight  to  hounds." 

Phyllis  laughed. 

"  More  logic,"  she  said,  and  shook  hands  with  her 
friend. 

"  That  girl  has  another  man  in  her  eye,"  said  her 
friend  sagaciously,  when  Phyllis  had  left  her  opposite 
her  own  tea-table.  "  But  I  don't  despair  ;  if  we  can 
only  persuade  our  bishop  to  prosecute  George  Holland, 
she  may  return  to  him  all  right." 

She  invariably  referred  to  the  bishop  as  if  he  were 
a  member  of  the  Earlscourt  household  ;  but  it  was  un- 
derstood that  the  bishop  had  never  actually  accepted 
the  responsibilities  incidental  to  such  a  position  ; 
though  he  had  his  views  on  the  subject  of  Lady 
Earlscourt's  cook. 

This  interview  had  taken  place  a  week  before  the 
dinner  party  for  which  Phyllis  was  carefully  dressed  by 
her  maid  Fidele  while  Herbert  Courtland  was  walk- 
ing away  from  the  house.  In  spite  of  her  logic,  Lady 
Earlscourt  now  and  again  stumbled  across  the  truth. 
When  it  occurred  to  her  that  Phyllis  had  another  man 
in  her  eye, — the  phrase  was  Lady  Earlscourt's  and  it 
served  very  well  to  express  her  meaning, — she  had 
made  some  careful  inquiries  on  the  subject  of  the  girl's 
male  visitors,  and  she  had,  of  course,  found  out  that  no 
other  man  occupied  that  enviable  position ;  no  social 
oculist  would  be  required  to  remove  the  element 
which,  in  Lady  Earlscourt's  estimation,  caused  Phyllis' 
vision  to  be  distorted. 

George  Holland  was  at  the  dinner.     Phyllis  had  been 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  169 

asked  very  quietly  by  the  hostess  if  she  would  mind 
being  taken  in  by  George  Holland ;  if  she  had  the 
least  feeling  on  the  matter,  Sir  Lionel  Greatorex  would 
not  mind  taking  her  instead  of  Mrs.  Vernon-Brooke. 
But  Phyllis  had  said  that  of  course  she  would  be  de- 
lighted to  sit  beside  Mr.  Holland.  Mr.  Holland  was 
one  of  her  best  friends. 

"  Is  his  case  so  hopeless  as  that  ?  "  said  Lady  Earls- 
court,  in  a  low  voice,  and  Phyllis  smiled  in  response — 
the  smile  of  the  guest  when  the  hostess  had  made  a 
point. 

When  Lady  Earlscourt  had  indiscreetly,  but  confi- 
dentially, explained  to  some  of  her  guests  the  previous 
week  that  she  meant  her  little  dinner  party  to  be  the 
means  of  reuniting  Mr.  Holland  and  Miss  Ayrton-,  one 
of  them — he  was  a  man — smiled  and  said,  when  she 
had  gone  away,  that  she  was  a  singularly  unobservant 
woman,  or  she  would  have  known  that  the  best  way  of 
bringing  two  people  together  is  to  keep  them  as  much 
apart  as  possible.  There  was  wisdom  in  the  para- 
dox, he  declared  ;  for  everyone  should  know  that  it 
was  only  when  a  man  and  a  women  were  far  apart 
that  they  came  to  appreciate  each  other. 

It  seemed,  indeed,  that  there  was  some  truth  in  what 
that  man  said,  for  Phyllis,  before  the  ice  pudding 
appeared,  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  George 
Holland  was  a  very  uninteresting  sort  of  man.  To  be 
sure,  he  had  not  talked  about  himself, — he  was  not  such 
a  fool  as  to  do  that :  he  had  talked  about  her  to  the 
exclusion  of  almost  every  other  topic — he  had  been 
wise  enough  to  do  that, — but  in  spite  of  all,  he  had  not 
succeeded  in  arousing  her  interest.  He  had  not  sue- 


17°  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

ceeded  in  making  her  think  of  the  present  when  her 
thoughts  had  been  dwelling  on  the  past — not  the  dis- 
tant past,  not  the  past  of  two  months  ago,  when  they 
had  been  lovers,  but  the  past  of  two  hours  ago,  when 
she  had  watched  the  effect  of  her  words  upon  Herbert 
Courtland. 

She  chatted  away  to  George  Holland  very  pleas- 
antly— as  pleasantly  as  usual — so  pleasantly  as  to  cause 
some  of  her  fellow-guests  to  smile  and  whisper  signifi- 
cantly to  one  another,  suggesting  the  impossibility  of 
two  persons  who  got  on  so  well  together  as  Mr.  Hol- 
land and  Miss  Ayrton  being  separated  by  a  barrier  so 
paltry  as  an  engagement  broken  off  by  the  young 
woman  for  conscience'  sake. 

But  when  the  significant  smiles  of  these  persons 
were  forced  upon  the  notice  of  their  hostess,  she  did 
not  smile ;  she  was  a  lady  with  a  really  remarkable 
lack  of  knowledge  ;  but  she  knew  better  than  to  ac- 
cept the  pleasant  chat  of  George  Holland  and  Phyllis 
Ayrton  as  an  indication  that  the  status  quo  ante  bel- 
lum — to  make  use  of  the  expressive  phrase  of  diplo- 
macy— had  been  re-established  between  them. 

Only  when  George  Holland  ventured  to  express  his 
admiration  of  Mr.  Ayrton's  adriotness  in  dealing  with 
the  foolish  question  of  the  gentleman  from  Wales  did 
he  succeed  in  interesting  Miss  Ayrton. 

"  What  a  very  foolish  letter  those  missionaries  sent 
home  regarding  the  explorations  of  Mr.  Courtland  !  " 
said  he.  "  Did  they  hope  to  jeopardize  the  popularity 
of  Mr.  Courtland  by  suggesting  that  he  had  massacred 
a  number  of  cannibals  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  that  was  their  object,"  said  Phyllis. 


PHYLLIS  OF  'PHILISTIA.  I?1 

"  They  must  be  singularly  foolish  persons,  even  for 
missionaries,"  said  the  Rev.  George  Holland. 

"  Even  for  missionaries?"  Phyllis  repeated.  "Oh, 
I  forgot  that  you  are  no  believer  in  the  advantages  of 
missions  to  the  people  whom  we  call  heathen.  But  I 
have  not  been  able  to  bring  myself  to  agree  with  you 
there.  They  have  souls  to  be  saved." 

"  That  is  quite  likely,"  said  he.  "  But  the  methods 
of  the  missionaries,  generally  speaking,  have  not  tended 
in  that  direction.  Hence  the  missionary  as  a  comesti- 
ble is  more  highly  esteemed  by  the  natives  than  the 
missionary  as  a  reformer.  They  rarely  understand 
the  natives  themselves,  and  they  nearly  always  fail  to 
make  themselves  intelligible  to  the  natives.  It  would 
appear  that  the  two  foolish  persons  who  wrote  that 
letter  about  Mr.  Courtland  made  but  a  poor  attempt 
at  understanding  even  their  own  countrymen,  if  they 
fancied  that  any  rumor  of  a  massacre  of  cannibals — 
nay,  any  proof  of  such  a  massacre — would  have  an  ap- 
preciable effect  upon  the  popularity  of  the  man  who 
brought  home  the  meteor-bird." 

"  You  don't  think  that  the  public  generally  would 
believe  the  story?"  said  Phyllis. 

"  I  think  it  extremely  unlikely  that  they  would 
believe  it,"  he  replied.  "  But  even  if  they  believed 
every  word  of  it  they  would  not  cease  to  believe  in 
Mr.  Courtland's  bravery.  What  is  a  hecatmob  of 
cannibals  compared  to  the  discovery  of  the  meteor- 
bird, — that  is,  in  the  eyes  of  the  general  public,  or  for 
that  matter,  the  Nonconformist  public  who  turn  up 
their  eyes  at  the  suggestion  of  a  massacre  of  natives  of 
an  island  that  is  almost  as  unknown  to  them  as  Ireland 


I?2  PHYLLIS  Of  PHILISTIA. 

itself?  The  people  of  this  country  of  ours  respect 
bravery  more  than  any  other  virtue,  and  I'm  not 
altogether  sure  that  they  are  greatly  astray  in  this 
matter.  The  Christian  faith  is  founded  upon  bravery, 
and  the  same  faith  has  inspired  countless  acts  of  brave 
men  and  women.  Oh,  no !  Mr.  Courtland  will  not 
suffer  from  the  attacks  of  these  foolish  persons." 

"  I  saw  him  this — a  short  time  ago,"  said  Phyllis, 
"  and  he  told  me  that  his  publishers  were  delighted  at 
the  result  of  the  agitation  which  that  newspaper  tried  to 
get  up  against  him  :  they  said  it  was  selling  his  book." 

"  I  saw  you  talking  with  Mr.  Courtland  after  the 
first  production  of  '  Cagliostro.'  I  envied  you — and 
him,"  said  Mr.  Holland.  "  I  wonder  if  he  was  really 
placed  in  the  unfortunate  position  of  having  to  mas- 
sacre a  horde  of  cannibals." 

Phyllis  laughed,  and  forthwith  told  him  the  truth 
as  it  had  been  communicated  to  her  regarding  the 
dynamite  outrage  upon  the  unsuspecting  natives,  and 
George  Holland  was  greatly  amused  at  the  story — 
much  more  highly  amused,  it  would  have  occurred  to 
some  persons,  than  a  clergyman  should  be  at  such  a 
recital.  But  then  George  Holland  was  not  as  other 
clergymen.  He  was  quite  devoid  of  the  affectations 
of  his  cloth.  He  did  not  consider  it  necessary  to  put 
the  tips  of  his  fingers  together  and  show  more  of  the 
white  portion  of  the  pupil  of  his  eye  than  a  straight- 
forward gaze  entailed,  when  people  talked  of  the  over- 
flowing of  a  river  in  China  and  the  consequent  drown- 
ing of  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  men — that  is  to  say, 
Chinamen.  He  was  no  more  affected  by  such  tidings 
than  the  Emperor  of  China.  He  was  infinitely  more 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  i?3 

affected  when  he  read  of  the  cold-blooded  massacre  by 
David,  sometime  King  of  Israel,  in  order  to  purchase 
for  himself  a  woman  for  whom  he  had  conceived  a 
liking.  He  knew  that  the  majoriry  of  clergymen  con- 
sidered it  to  be  their  duty  to  preach  funeral  services 
over  the  drowned  Chinamen,  and  to  impress  upon  their 
hearers  that  David  was  a  man  after  God's  own  heart. 
He  also  knew  that  the  majority  of  clergymen  preached 
annual  sermons  in  aid  of  the  missions — to  be  strictly 
accurate,  in  aid  of  the  missionaries  who  did  some 
yachting  in  the  South  Seas,  and  had  brought  into 
existence  the  sin  of  nakedness  among  the  natives,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  the  more  easily  swindled  by 
those  Christians  who  sold  them  shoddy  for  calico,  to 
purge  them  of  their  sin.  George  Holland  could  not 
see  his  way  to  follow  the  example  of  his  brethren  in 
this  respect.  He  did  not  think  that  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment would  witness  the  inauguration  of  any  great 
scheme  of  eternal  punishment  for  the  heathen  in  his 
blindness  who  had  been  naked  all  his  life  without 
knowing  it.  He  knew  that  the  heathen  in  his  blind- 
ness had  curiosity  enough  at  his  command  to  inquire 
of  the  missionaries  if  the  white  beachcomber  and  his 
bottle  of  square-face  represented  the  product  of  cen- 
turies of  Christianity,  and  if  they  did  not,  why  the 
missionaries  did  not  evangelize  the  beachcomber  and 
his  bottle  off  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Phyllis,  being  well  aware  of  George  Holland's  views, 
was  not  shocked  at  the  sound  of  his  laughter  at  the 
true  story  of  Mr.  Courtland's  dynamite  outrage  at 
New  Guinea ;  but  all  the  same,  she  was  glad  that  she 
was  not  going  to  marry  him. 


174  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILIST1A. 

He  had  not,  however,  been  altogether  uninteresting 
in  her  eyes  while  sitting  beside  her,  and  that  was 
something  to  record  in  his  favor. 

She  drove  home  early,  and  running  upstairs  found 
herself  face  to  face  with  Ella  Linton. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

"  I      HAVE      HEARD      THE      PASSIONATE      GALLOP     OF 
THOSE   FIERY-FOOTED   STEEDS." 

ELLA  was  standing  waiting  for  her  outside  the  open 
door  of  a  drawing  room.  She  was  wearing  a  lovely 
evening  dress  with  a  corsage  of  white  lace  covered 
with  diamonds  and  sapphires.  Her  hair — it  was  of  the 
darkest  brown  and  was  very  plentiful — was  also  glit- 
tering with  gems  under  the  light  that  flowed  through 
the  open  door.  The  same  light  showed  Phyllis  how 
deathly  white  Ella's  face  and  neck  were — howtumultu- 
ously  her  bosom  was  heaving.  She  had  one  hand 
pressed  to  her  side,  and  the  other  on  the  handle  of  the 
door  when  Phyllis  met  her ;  and  in  that  attitude,  even 
though  the  expanse  of  white  flesh,  with  its  gracious 
curves  that  forced  out  her  bodice,  had  no  roseate  tint 
upon  it,  she  looked  lovely — intoxicating  to  the  eyes  of 
men. 

Phyllis  was  certainly  surprised.  The  hour  was 
scarcely  eleven,  but  Ella  had  given  no  notice  of  her 
intention  to  pay  a  visit  to  her  friend  that  night. 
When  the  girl  raised  her  hands  with  a  laugh  of  admira- 
tion, of  pleasure,  Ella  grasped  her  hands  with  both  of 
her  own  and  drew  her  into  the  drawing  room  without 
a  word.  Then  with  a  cry, — a  laugh  and  a  cry  mingled, 
— she  literally  flung  herself  into  the  girl's  arms  and 

*75 


I?6  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

kissed  her  convulsively  a  dozen  times,  on  the  throat, 
on  the  neck,  on  the  shoulder  whereon  her  head  lay. 

"  My  darling,  my  darling  !  "  she  cried, — and  now  and 
again  her  voice  was  broken  with  a  sob, — "  my  darling 
Phyllis  !  I  have  come  to  you — I  want  to  be  with  you 
— to  be  near  you — to  keep  my  arms  about  you,  so 
tightly  that  no  one  can  pluck  us  asunder.  Oh,  you 
don't  know  what  men  are — they  would  pluck  us 
asunder  if  they  could  ;  but  they  can't  now.  With  you 
I  am  safe — that  is  why  I  have  come  to  you,  my  Phyllis. 
I  want  to  be  safe — indeed  I  do  !  " 

She  had  now  raised  her  head  from  Phyllis'  shoulder, 
but  was  still  holding  her  tightly — a  hand  on  each  of 
her  arms,  and  her  face  within  an  inch  of  the  girl's 
face. 

Phyllis  kissed  her  softly  on  each  cheek. 

"  My  poor  dear !  "  she  said,  "  what  can  have  hap- 
pened to  you?  " 

"  Nothing — nothing !  I  tell  you  that  nothing  has 
happened  to  me,v  cried  Ella,  with  a  vehemence  that 
almost  amounted  to  fierceness  in  her  voice.  "  Would 
I  be  here  with  you  now  if  anything  had  happened  to 
me  ?  tell  me  that.  I  came  to  you — ah  !  women  have 
no  guardian  angels,  but  they  have  sisters  who  are 
equally  good  and  pure,  and  you  are  my  sister — my 
sister — better  than  all  the  angels  that  ever  sang  a 
dirge  over  a  lost  soul  that  they  put  forth  no  hand  to 
save.  You  will  not  let  me  go,  darling  Phyllis,  you  will 
not  let  me  go  even  if  I  tell  you  that  I  want  to  go. 
Don't  believe  me,  Phyllis;  I  don't  want  to  go — I  don't 
want  to  be  lost,  and  if  I  leave  you  I  am  lost.  You 
will  keep  me,  dear,  will  you  not  ?" 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  177 

"  Until  the  end  of  the  world,"  said  Phyllis.  "  Come, 
dearest  Ella,  tell  me  what  is  the  matter — why  you 
have  come  to  me  in  that  lovely  costume.  You  look  as 
if  you  were  dressed  for  a  bridal." 

"A  bridal — a  bridal  ?  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?" 
said  Ella,  with  curious  eagerness — a  suggestion  of  sus- 
picion was  in  her  tone.  She  had  loosed  her  hold 
upon  the  girl's  arms. 

Phyllis  laughed.  She  put  a  hand  round  Ella's  waist 
and  led  her  to  a  sofa,  saying : 

"  Let  us  sit  down  and  talk  it  all  over.  That  is  the 
lace  you  told  me  you  picked  up  at  Munich.  What  a 
design — lilies  !  " 

"  The  Virgin's  flower — the  Virgin's  flower  !  I  never 
thought  of  that,"  laughed  Ella.  "  It  is  for  you — not 
me,  this  lace.  I  shall  tear  it  off  and — 

"  You  shall  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  cried  Phyllis. 
"  I  have  heaps  of  lace — more  than  I  shall  ever  wear. 
What  a  lovely  idea  that  is  of  yours, — I'm  sure  it  is 
yours, — sewing  the  diamonds  around  the  cup  of  the 
lilies,  like  dewdrops.  I  always  did  like  diamonds  on 
lace.  Some  people  would  have  us  believe  that  dia- 
monds should  only  be  worn  with  blue  velvet.  How 
commonplace  !  Where  have  you  been  to-night?" 

"  Where  have  I  been  ?  I  have  been  at  home. 
Where  should  a  good  woman  be  in  the  absence  of  her 
husband,  but  at  home — his  home  and  her  home?" 

Ella  laughed  loud  and  long  with  her  head  thrown 
back  on  the  cushion  of  the  sofa,  and  the  diamonds  in 
her  hair  giving  back  flash  for  flash  to  the  electric 
candles  above  her  head.  "  Yes ;  I  was  at  home — I 
dined  at  home,  and,  God  knows  why,  I  conceived  a 


178  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILIST1A. 

sudden  desire  to  go  to  the  opera, — Melba  is  the  Juliet, 
— and  forgetting  that  you  were  engaged  to  the  Earls- 
courts — you  told  me  last  week  that  you  were  going, 
but  I  stupidly  forgot,  I  drove  across  here  to  ask  you 
to  be  my  companion.  Oh,  yes,  I  have  been  here 
since — since  nine,  mind  that !  nine — nine — ask  the 
servants.  When  I  heard  that  you  were  dining  out 
I  thought  that  I  was  lost — one  cannot  drive  about  the 
streets  all  night,  can  one  ?  Ah  !  I  thought  that  God 
was  against  me  now,  as  he  ever  has  been  ;  and  as 
for  my  guardian  angel — ah  !  our  guardian  angels  are 
worse  than  the  servants  of  nowadays  who  have  no 
sense  of  responsibility.  Thompson,  your  butler,  is 
worth  a  whole  heavenful  of  angels,  for  it  was  he  who 
asked  me  if  I  would  come  in  and  wait  for  your  return 
— ask  him,  if  you  doubt  my  word." 

"Good  Heavens,  Ella,  what  do  you  say?  Doubt 
your  word — I  doubt  your  word  ?  You  wound  me 
deeply." 

"  Forgive  me,  my  Phyllis.  I  don't  quite  know 
what  I  said.  Ah,  let  me  nestle  here — here."  She 
had  put  her  head  down  to  Phyllis'  bare  neck  and  was 
looking  up  to  her  face  as  a  child  might  have  done. 
"  There  is  no  danger  here.  Now  pet  me,  and  say 
that  you  forgive  me  for  having  said  whatever  I  did 
say." 

Phyllis  laughed  and  put  her  lips  down  among  the 
myriad  diamonds  that  glowed  amid  the  other's  hair, 
like  stars  seen  among  the  thick  foliage  of  a  copper 
beech. 

"  I  forgive  you  for  whatever  you  said,"  she  cried. 
"I,  too,  have  forgotten  what  it  was;  but  you  must 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  179 

never  say  so  again.  But  had  you  really  no  engage- 
ment for  to-night  that  you  took  that  fancy  for  going 
to  'Romeo'?" 

"  No  engagement  ?  Had  I  no  engagement,  do  you 
ask  me  ?  "  cried  Ella.  "  Oh,  yes,  yes !  I  had  an  engage- 
ment, but  I  broke  it — I  broke  it — I  broke  it,  and  that 
is  why  I  am  here.  Whatever  may  come  of  it,  I  am 
here,  and  here  I  mean  to  stay.  I  am  safe  here.  At 
home  I  am  in  danger." 

Phyllis  wondered  greatly  what  had  come  to  her 
friend  to  make  her  talk  in  this  wild  strain. 

"Where  were  you  engaged?"  she  inquired  casually. 
She  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  safety 
in  the  commonplace:  she  would  not  travel  out  of  the 
region  of  commonplaces  with  Ella  in  her  present 
state. 

"  Where  was  I  engaged  ?  Surely  I  told  you. 
Didn't  I  say  something  about  the  opera — '  Romeo 
and  Juliet '  ? — that  was  to  be  the  piece,  but  I  came  to 
you  instead.  Ah,  what  have  we  missed  !  Was  there 
ever  such  a  poem  written  as  'Romeo  and  Juliet'? 
Was  there  ever  such  music  as  Gounod's?  I  thought 
the  first  time  that  I  went  to  the  opera  that  it  would 
spoil  Shakspere — how  could  it  do  otherwise  ?  I  asked. 
Could  supreme  perfection  be  improved  upon?  Before 
the  balcony  scene  had  come  to  an  end  I  found  that 
I  had  never  before  understood  the  glory  of  the  poem. 
Ah,  if  you  could  understand  what  love  means,  my 
Phyllis,  you  would  appreciate  the  poem  and  the 
music  ;  the  note  of  doom  runs  through  it ;  that — 
that  is  wherein  its  greatness  lies — passion  and  doom 
— passion  and  doom — that  is  my  own  life — the  life  of 


i8o  PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1ST1A. 

us  women.  We  live  in  a  whirlwind  of  passion,  and 
fancy  that  we  can  step  out  of  the  whirlwind  into  a 
calm  at  any  moment.  We  marry  our  husbands  and 
we  fancy  that  all  the  tragedy  of  human  passion  is  over 
so  far  as  we  are  concerned.  '  The  haven  entered  and 
the  tempest  passed.'  Philip  Marston's  terrible  poem, 
— you  have  read  it, — '  A  Christmas  Vigil '  ?  '  The  haven 
entered,' — the  whirlwind  of  passion  has  been  left  far 
away,  we  fancy.  Oh,  we  are  fools  !  It  sweeps  down 
upon  us  and  then — doom — doom  !  " 

"  My  poor  dear,  you  are  talking  wildly." 

"  If  you  only  understood — perhaps  you  will  some 
day  understand,  and  then  you  will  know  what  seems 
wild  in  my  speech  is  but  the  incoherence  of  a  poor 
creature  who  has  been  beaten  to  the  ground  by  the 
whirlwind,  and  only  saved  from  destruction  by  a 
miracle." 

She  had  sprung  from  her  place  on  the  sofa  and  was 
pacing  the  room,  her  diamonds  quivering,  luminous  as 
a  shower  of  meteors — that  was  the  fancy  that  flashed 
from  her  to  Phyllis.  Meteors — meteors — what  a 
splendid  picture  she  made  flashing  from  place  to 
place !  Meteors — ah,  surely  there  was  the  meteor- 
bird  flashing  across  the  drawing  room  ! 

"  Come  and  sit  down,  my  dear  Ella,"  said  Phyllis. 
"You  are,  as  you  know,  quite  unintelligible  to  me." 

"  Unintelligible  to  you  ?  I  am  unintelligible  to  my- 
self," cried  Ella.  "  Why  should  I  be  tramping  up 
and  down  your  room  when  I  might  be  at  this  very 

moment '  She  clutched  Phyllis'  arm.  "  I  want 

to  stay  with  you  all  night,"  she  whispered.  "  I 
want  to  sleep  in  your  bed  with  you,  Phyllis.  I  want 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  iSl 

to  feel  your  arms  around  me  as  I  used  to  feel  my 
mother's  long  ago.  Whatever  I  may  say,  you  will 
not  let  me  go,  Phyllis  ?  " 

"  I  will  load  you  with  chains,"  said  Phyllis,  patting 
her  lovely  hair — it  was  no  longer  smooth.  "  Why 
should  you  want  to  go  away  from  me  ?  Cannot  we  be 
happy  together  once  again  as  we  used  to  be  long  ago  ?  " 

"  How  long  ago  that  was  !  And  we  read  '  Romeo 
and  Juliet '  together,  and  fancied  that  we  had  gone 
down  to  the  very  depths  of  its  meaning.  We  fancied 
that  we  had  sounded  the  very  depths  of  its  passion  and 
pathos.  We  were  only  girls.  Ah,  Phyllis,  I  tell  you 
— I,  who  know — I,  who  have  found  it  out, — I  tell  you 
that  the  tragedy  is  the  tragedy  of  all  lovers  who  have 
ever  lived  in  the  world.  I  tell  you  that  it  is  the  tragedy 
of  love  itself.  '  Gallop  apace,  ye  fiery-footed  steeds  ! ' 
That  is  the  poem  that  the  heart  of  the  lover  sings 
all  day — all  day !  I  have  heard  it — my  heart  has 
sung  it.  I  have  heard  the  passionate  gallop  of  those 
fiery-footed  steeds.  I  have  listened  to  them  while  my 
heart  beat  in  unison  with  their  frantic  career — all  day 
counting  the  moments  with  fiery  face,  and  then — then 
— something  that  was  not  passion  forced  me  away 
from  the  love  that  I  thirsted  for — forced  me  to  fly 
from  it  for  the  salvation  of  my  soul.  I  was  a  fool ! 

Why  am  I  here,  when  I  should  be  where  he 

What  is  the  hour  ?  Why,  it  is  scarcely  twelve  o'clock  ! 
Did  I  say  nine  in  my  letter?  What  does  it  matter? 
I  wonder  if  on  that  wonderful  night — Gounod  trans- 
lated its  glory  into  music — Juliet  kept  her  lover  wait- 
ing for  three  hours." 

"  What  are  you  doing  ?  "  cried  Phyllis,  rising. 


182  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Ella  had  picked  up  her  theater  wrap — it  was  a 
summer  cloud  brocaded  with  golden  threads  of  quiver- 
ing sunlight,  and  had  flung  it  around  her. 

She  held  out  a  hand  to  Phyllis.  Phyllis  grasped 
her  round  the  waist. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  she  said. 

"To  hell!"  ' 

She  had  whispered  the  words,  and  at  their  utterance 
Phyllis  gave  a  cry  of  horror  and  covered  her  face  with 
her  hands. 

Had  she  seen  a  suggestion  of  the  satyr  in  the  expres- 
sion of  that  lovely  face  before  her? 

In  the  pause  that  followed,  the  sound  of  footsteps 
upon  the  stairs  outside  was  heard  ;  the  sound  of  foot- 
steps and  of  men's  friendly  laughter.  Some  persons 
were  in  the  act  of  ascending. 

"My  God!"  whispered  Ella.  "He  has  followed 
me  here !  " 

"  Hush  !"  said  Phyllis.  "  Papa  is  bringing  someone 
to  us." 

"  Whom— whom  ?  " 

They  were  standing  together  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  both  having  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  door,  when 
the  door  opened  and  Mr.  Ayrton  appeared,  having 
by  his  side  a  man  with  iron-gray  hair  and  a  curiously 
pallid  face. 

At  the  sight  of  that  man  Ella's  hands,  that  had  been 
holding  her  wrap  close  to  her  throat,  feeling  for  its 
silver  clasp,  fell  limp,  and  the  splendid  mass  of  white 
brocade  slipped  to  the  floor  and  lay  in  folds  about  her 
feet,  revealing  her  lovely  figure  sparkling  from  the  hem 
of  her  dress  to  the  top  of  her  shapely  head. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

"THAT    TOILET   SHOULD   NOT    HAVE   BEEN    WASTED." 

FOR  several  seconds  the  tableau  remained  un- 
changed :  the  two  women  standing  side  by  side,  the 
two  men  motionless  at  the  half-open  door. 

Ella  was  staring  at  the  man  who  had  entered  with 
Mr.  Ayrton.  There  was  some  apprehension  in  her 
eyes. 

The  man  had  his  eyes  fixed  upon  her.  But  his  face 
was  wholly  devoid  of  expression. 

Phyllis  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence  that  made 
a  frame,  so  to  speak,  for  the  picture. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Linton?"  she  said,  taking  a 
step  toward  the  door. 

"  I  am  very  well,  thank  you,  Miss  Ayrton,"  the  man 
replied,  shaking  hands  with  her.  "  Rather  a  singular 
hour  for  a  visit,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  !  only  Ella  didn't  tell  me  that  you " 

She  turned  to  Ella,  and  noticed  that  the  expression 
of  apprehension  on  her  face  had  increased.  She  was 
still  gazing  at  her  husband  as  one  shut  up  in  a  room 
with  a  snake  might  gaze  at  it,  waiting  for  it  to  strike. 

"  Ella  didn't  tell  you  that  I  was  coming  ?  "  said  he. 
"  She  had  the  best  of  reasons  for  her  reticence." 

"Ah!" 

The  sound  came  from  Ella.  There  was  a  little 
scornful  smile  on  her  face. 

183 


I $4  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LIST1A. 

"  The  best  of  reasons?"  said  Phyllis  interrogatively. 

"The  very  best  ;  she  had  no  idea  that  I  was  coming. 
I  wonder  if  she  is  glad  to  see  me.  She  has  not  spoken 
a  word  to  me  yet." 

"  You  have  startled  her  by  your  sudden  appear- 
ance," said  Phyllis.  "  She  is  not  certain  whether  you 
are  flesh  and  blood  or  a  ghost." 

Then  Ella  gave  a  laugh. 

"  Oh,  yes!  "  she  said.  "  He  is  my  husband.  Go  on 
with  what  you  have  to  say,  Stephen.  I  will  not  run 
away." 

"Run  away?  What  nonsense  is  this,  my  dear? 
Run  away?  Who  said  anything  about  your  running 
away  ?  " 

Her  husband  had  advanced  to  her  as  he  spoke.  He 
put  a  hand  caressingly  on  one  of  her  bare  arms  and 
the  other  at  the  back  of  her  head.  She  suffered  him 
to  press  her  head  forward  until  he  put  his  lips  upon 
her  forehead. 

When  he  had  released  her,  and  had  taken  a  step 
back  from  her, — he  seemed  about  to  address  Phyllis, — 
a  little  cry  forced  itself  from  her.  She  called  his  name 
twice, — the  second  time  louder, — and  threw  herself 
into  his  arms,  burying  her  face  on  his  shoulder,  as  she 
had  buried  it  on  Phyllis'  shoulder. 

In  a  few  moments,  however,  she  looked  up.  Her 
husband  was  patting  her  on  the  arm.  She  had 
acquired  two  new  gems  since  she  had  bent  her  head. 
They  were  shining  in  her  eyes. 

"Don't  go  away,  Phyllis  dear,"  she  said.  Phyllis 
and  her  father  were  standing  at  the  porttire  between 
the  drawing  rooms.  Mr.  Ayrton  had  a  hand  at  the 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  185 

embroidered  edge  in  the  act  of  raising  it.  "  Don't  go 
away.  I  am  all  right  now.  I  was  quite  dazed  at 
Stephen's  sudden  appearance.  I  thought  that  per- 
haps he  had — had Ah,  I  scarcely  know  what  I 

thought.  How  did  you  come  here — why  did  you 
come  here  ?  " 

She  had  turned  to  her  husband.  In  spite  of  her 
manifestation  of  affection, — the  result  of  a  certain 
relief  which  she  experienced  at  that  moment, — there 
was  a  note  of  something  akin  to  indignation  in  her 
voice. 

"  It  is  very  simple,  my  dear,"  replied  her  husband. 
His  curiously  sallow  face  had  resumed  its  usual  ex- 
pressionless appearance.  "  Nothing  could  be  more 
simple.  I  got  a  telegram  at  Paris  regarding  the  mine, 
and  I  had  to  start  at  a  moment's  notice.  I  wrote  out 
a  telegram  to  send  to  you,  and  that  idiotic  courier  put 
it  into  the  pocket  of  my  overcoat  instead  of  sending 
it.  I  found  it  in  my  pocket  when  we  had  come  as  far 
as  Canterbury.  I  am  not  one  of  those  foolish  hus- 
bands who  keep  these  pleasant  surprises  for  their 
wives — it  is  usually  the  husband  who  receives  the  sur- 
prise in  such  cases." 

"And  the  coachman  told  you  that  he  had  driven 
me  here?"  said  Ella. 

"  Quite  so,"  replied  the  husband.  "  But,  you  see, 
I  had  some  little  hesitation  in  coming  here  at  half- 
past  ten  o'clock  to  make  inquiries  about  my  wife — 
you  might  have  gone  to  some  place  else,  you  know, 
in  which  case  I  should  have  looked  a  trifle  foolish  ; 
so  I  thought  that,  on  the  whole,  my  best  plan  would 
be  to  drop  in  upon  Mr.  Ayrton  at  the  House  of 


1 86  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Commons  and  drive  here  with  him  when  he  was  com- 
ing home  for  the  night.  I  took  it  for  granted  that 
even  so  earnest  a  legislator  as  Mr.  Ayrton  allows  him- 
self his  nights — after  twelve,  of  course — at  home.  I'm 
very  sorry  I  startled  you,  Ella.  It  shall  not  occur 
again." 

"  What  time  did  you  reach  home  ? "  inquired  Ella 
casually — so  casually  that  her  husband,  who  had  a 
very  discriminating  ear,  gave  a  little  glance  in  her 
direction.  She  was  disengaging  a  corner  of  her  lace 
trimming  that  had  become  entangled  with  a  large 
sapphire  in  a  pendant. 

"  I  reached  home  at  nine,"  he  replied. 

"  At  nine  ? "  She  spoke  the  words  after  him  in  a 
little  gasp.  Then  she  said,  walking  across  the  room 
to  a  sofa,  "  I  could  not  have  left  many  minutes  before 
you  arrived.  I  intended  going  to  the  opera." 

"  That  toilet  should  not  have  been  wasted,"  said  he. 
"  It  is  exquisite — ravissante  !  " 

"  It  was  an  inspiration,  your  putting  it  on,"  said 
Phyllis.  "  I  wonder  if  she  really  had  no  subtle  sug- 
gestion from  her  own  heart  that  you  were  on  your 
way  to  her,  Mr.  Linton,"  she  added,  turning  to  the 
husband. 

"  I  dare  say  it  was  some  inward  prompting  of  that 
mysterious  nature,  Miss  Ayrton,"  he  replied.  "  A 
woman's  heart  is  barometric  in  its  nature,  it  is  not  ? 
Its  sensitiveness  is  so  great  that  it  moves  responsive  to 
a  suggestion  of  what  is  to  come.  Is  a  woman's  heart 
prophetic,  I  wonder?" 

"  It  would  be  a  rank  heresy  to  doubt  it,  after  the 
example  we  have  had  to-night,"  said  Mr.  Ayrton. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  187 

"  Yes,  a  woman's  heart  is  a  barometer  suggesting 
what  is  coming  to  her,  and  her  toilet  is  a  thermometer 
indicating  the  degree  of  expectancy." 

"  A  charming  phrase,"  said  Mr.  Linton;  "a  charm- 
ing principle,  only  one  that  demands  some  years  of 
close  study  to  be  rendered  practical.  For  instance, 
look  at  my  wife's  toilet :  it  is  bridal,  and  yet  we  have 
been  married  three  years." 

"  Quite  so  ;  and  that  toilet  means  that  you  are  the 
luckiest  fellow  in  the  world,"  said  Mr.  Ayrton. 

"  I  admit  the  interpretation,"  said  her  husband. 
"  I  told  the  hansom  to  wait  for  me.  He  is  at  the  door 
now.  You  have  had  no  opera  to-night,  my  dear?" 

"You  would  not  except  me  to  go  alone?  Phyllis 
was  dining  at  the  Earlscourts',"  said  the  wife. 

"  You  are  the  soul  of  discretion,  my  beloved,"  said 
the  husband.  "  Is  your  stock  of  phrases  equal  to  a 
suggestion  as  to  what  instrument  is  the  soul  of  a 
woman,  Ayrton?"  he  added.  "  Her  heart  is  a  barom- 
eter, her  toilet  a  thermometer,  and  her  soul " 

"  The  soul  of  a  woman  is  not  an  instrument,  but 
a  flower — a  lily,"  said  Mr.  Ayrton. 

"  And  my  wife  wears  her  soul  upon  her  sleeve," 
said  Mr.  Linton,  touching  the  design  on  the  lace  that 
fell  from  her  shoulders. 

"  But  not  for  daws  to  peck  at — that  is  the  heart," 
laughed  Mr.  Ayrton.  "  Talking  of  woman's  soul,  how 
is  Lady  Earlscourt?"  he  added,  to  his  daughter. 

"  I  was  so  sorry  that  I  was  at  that  stupid  dinner," 
said  Phyllis.  "  I  might  have  enjoyed  the  music  of 
'  Romeo  and  Juliet.'  But  I  had  engaged  myself  to 
Lady  Earlscourt  a  fortnight  ago." 


1 88  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"You  did  not  see  Lord  Earlscourt,  at  any  rate," 
said  her  father. 

"No;  he  left  us  in  the  evening  for  Southampton," 
said  Phyllis. 

"And,  curiously  enough,  I  dined  with  him  at  the 
club,"  said  her  father.  "  Yes,  he  came  in  with 
Herbert  Courtland  at  half-past  seven ;  he  had  met 
Courtland  and  had  persuaded  him  to  join  him  in  his 
cruise  to  Norway.  They  dined  at  my  table,  and  by 
the  time  we  had  finished  Courtland's  man  had  arrived 
with  his  bag.  He  had  sent  the  man  a  message  from 
the  club  to  pack.  They  left  by  the  eight-forty  train, 
and  I  expect  they  are  well  under  way  by  this  time." 

"  That's  quite  too  bad  of  Courtland,"  said  Mr. 
Linton.  "  I  wanted  to  have  a  talk  with  him — a  rather 
serious  talk." 

Ella  had  listened  to  Mr.  Ayrton's  account  of  that 
little  dinner  party  at  the  club  with  white  cheeks — 
a  moment  before  they  had  been  red — and  with  her 
lips  tightly  closed.  Her  hands  were  clenched  until 
the  tips  of  the  nails  were  biting  into  each  of  her 
palms,  before  he  had  come  to  the  end  of  his  story — a 
story  of  one  incident.  But  when  her  husband  had 
spoken  her  hands  relaxed.  The  blaze  that  had  come 
to  her  eyes  for  a  second  went  out  without  a  flicker. 

"  A  serious  talk?"  she  murmured. 

"A  serious  talk — about  the  mine,"  replied  her 
husband. 

"About  the  mine,"  she  repeated,  and  a  moment 
after  burst  into  a  laugh  that  was  almost  startling  in 
its  insincerity.  "It  is  so  amusing,  this  chapter  of 
cross-purposes,"  she  cried.  "  What  a  night  it  has 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  189 

been !  a  night  of  thrilling  surprises  to  all  of  us ! 
I  miss  Phyllis  by  half  an  hour  and  my  husband  misses 
me  by  less  than  half  an  hour.  He  comes  at  express 
speed  from  Paris  to  have  a  talk,  a  serious  talk,  with 
Mr.  Courtland  about  the  mine,  and  while  he  is  driving 
from  Victoria,  Mr.  Courtland  is  driving  to  the  same 
station  with  Lord  Earlscourt ! " 

"  What  a  series  of  fatalities ! "  said  Mr.  'Ayrton. 
"  But  what  seemed  to  me  most  amusing  was  the  per- 
suasiveness of  Earlscourt.  He  has  only  to  speak  half 
a  dozen  words  to  Courtland,  and  off  he  goes  to  Norway 
at  a  moment's  notice  with  probably  the  most  uncon- 
genial boat's  load  that  Courtland  ever  sailed  with,  and 
he  must  have  done  a  good  deal  in  that  way  in  New 
Guinea  waters.  Now,  why  should  Courtland  take  such 
a  turn?" 

"Ah,  why,  indeed  !  "  cried  Mrs.  Linton.  "Yes,  that 
is,  as  you  say,  the  most  amusing  part  of  the  whole 
evening  of  cross-purposes.  Why  should  he  run  away 
just  at  this  time — to-night — to-night  ?  " 

"  What  is  there  particular  about  to-night  that 
Courtland's  running  away  should  seem  doubly  erratic  ?" 
asked  Mr.  Linton,  after  a  little  pause.  He  had  his 
eyes  fixed  coldly  upon  his  wife's  face. 

She  turned  to  him  and  laughed  quite  merrily. 

"  What  is  there  particular  about  to-night  ? "  she 
repeated.  "  Why,  have  you  not  arrived  from  Paris 
to-night  to  have  that  serious  talk  with  him  about  the 
mine?  Doesn't  it  seem  to  you  doubly  provoking  that 
he  didn't  stay  until  to-morrow  or  that  you  didn't  arrive 
yesterday  ?  Why,  why,  why  did  he  run  away  to-night 
before  nine?  " 


190  PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  Why  before  nine?"  said  her  husband. 

"  Heavens !  Was  not  that  the  hour  when  you 
arrived  home?  You  said  so  just  now,"  she  cried. 
Then  she  picked  up  her  wrap.  Phyllis  had  thrown  it 
over  a  chair  when  it  had  lain  in  a  heap  on  the  floor  as 
Cleopatra's  wrap  may  have  lain  when  she  was  carried 
into  the  presence  of  her  lover.  "  My  dear  Stephen, 
don't  you  think  that  as  it  is  past  nine,  and  Mr.  Court- 
land  is  probably  some  miles  out  at  sea  with  his  head 
reposing  on  something  hard, — there  is  nothing  soft 
about  a  yacht, — we  should  make  a  move  in  the  direc- 
tion of  home?  It  seems  pretty  clear  that  you  will 
have  no  serious  talk  with  him  to-night.  Alas !  my 
Phyllis,  our  dream  of  happiness  is  over.  We  are  to 
be  separated  by  the  cruelty  of  man,  as  usual.  Good- 
night, my  dear !  Good-night,  Mr.  Ayrton  !  Pray  for- 
give us  for  keeping  you  out  of  bed  so  long ;  and 
receive  my  thanks  for  restoring  my  long-lost  husband 
to  my  arms.  Didn't  you  say  that  the  hansom  was 
waiting,  Stephen  ?  " 

"  I  expect  the  man  has  been  asleep  for  the  last  half- 
hour,"  said  her  husband. 

"  I  hope  nothing  has  gone  astray  with  the  gold 
mine,"  said  she.  "  Hasn't  someone  made  a  calculation 
regarding  the  accumulation  of  a  shilling  hansom  fare 
at  compound  interest  when  the  driver  is  kept  wait- 
ing? It  is  like  the  sum  about  the  nails  in  the  horse's 
shoe.  We  shall  be  ruined  if  we  remain  here  much 
longer." 

"Ah,  my  dear,"  said  Mr.  Ayrton,  when  he  had 
kissed  her  hand,  and  straightened  the  sable  collar  of 
her  wrap ;  "ah,  my  dear,  a  husband  is  a  husband." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  191 

"  Even  when  he  stays  away  from  his  wife  for  three 
months  at  a  time?"  said  Ella. 

"  Not  in  spite  of  that,  but  on  account  of  it,"  said 
Mr.  Ayrton.  "  Have  you  been  married  all  these  years 
without  finding  that  out?" 

"  Good-night !  "  said  she. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

"  HE    HAD   EXPLAINED   TO   PHYLLIS    ONCE    THAT    HE 
THOUGHT   OF   GOD   ONLY   AS   A   PRINCIPLE." 

THE  sound  of  the  hansom  wheels  had  died  away 
before  the  father  and  daughter  exchanged  a  word. 
Mr.  Ayrton  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"  It  seems  to  have  been  a  night  of  mischance," 
said  he. 

"  I  am  very  glad  that  Mr.  Linton  has  returned," 
said  she. 

"  What  ?  Now,  why  should  you  be  glad  of  that  very 
ordinary  incident  ?  " 

"  Why  ?     Oh,  papa,  I  am  so  fond  of  her ! " 

"  She  may  be  fond  of  him,  after  all." 

Mr.  Ayrton  spoke  musingly. 

"  Of  course  she  is,"  said  Phyllis,  with  a  positiveness 
that  was  designed  to  convince  herself  that  she  believed 
her  own  statement. 

"And  he  may  be  fond  of  her — yes,  at  times," 
resumed  Mr.  Ayrton.  "  That  toilet  of  hers  seems  to 
have  been  the  only  happy  element  in  the  game  of 
cross-purposes  which  was  played  to-night." 

"Ah,"  whispered  the  girl. 

"Yes;  it  was  an  inspiration.  She  could  not  have 
expected  her  husband  to-night.  What  a  dress  !  Even 
a  husband  would  be  compelled  to  admit  its  fascination. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  193 

And  she  said  she  meant  to  wear  it  at  the  opera  to- 
night. It  was  scarcely  an  opera  toilet,  was  it?" 

"  Ella's  taste  is  never  at  fault,  papa." 

"  I  suppose  not.  I  wonder  if  he  is  capable  of 
appreciating  the — the — let  us  say,  the  inspiration  of 
that  toilet.  Is  that,  I  wonder,  the  sort  of  dress  that 
a  man  likes  his  wife  to  wear  when  she  welcomes  him 
home  after  an  absence  of  some  months  ?  No  matter  ; 
it  was  exquisite  in  every  detail.  Curious,  her  coming 
here  and  waiting  after  she  had  learned  that  you  were 
out,  was  it  not ;  from  nine  o'clock — that  fateful  hour ! — 
to-night?" 

"  I  think  she  must  have  felt — lonely,"  said  Phyllis. 
"  She  seemed  so  glad  to  see  me — so  relieved.  She 
meant  to  stay  with  me  all  night,  poor  thing!  Oh, 
why  should  her  husband  stay  away  from  her  for 
months  at  a  time  ?  It  is  quite  disgraceful ! " 

"  I  think  that  we  had  better  go  to  bed,"  said  her 
father.  "  If  we  begin  to  discuss  abstract  questions  of 
temperament  we  may  abandon  all  hope  of  sleep  to- 
night. We  might  as  well  try  to  fathom  Herbert 
Courtland's  reasons  for  going  to  yacht  with  so  uncon- 
genial a  party  as  Lord  Earlscourt's.  Good-night,  my 
dear ! " 

He  kissed  her  and  went  upstairs.  She  did  not  fol- 
low him  immediately.  She  stood  in  the  center  of  the 
room,  and  over  her  sweet  face  a  puzzled  expression 
crept,  as  a  single  breath  of  wind  passes  over  the 
smooth  surface  of  a  lake  on  a  day  when  no  wind 
stirs  a  leaf. 

She  thought  first  of  Herbert  Courtland,  which  of 
itself  was  a  curious  incident.  How  did  it  come  that 


194  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

he  had  yielded  so  easily  to  the  invitation  of  Lord 
Earlscourt  to  accompany  him  on  his  cruise  in  the 
yacht  Water  Nymph  ?  (Lord  Earlscourt's  imagina- 
tion in  the  direction  of  nomenclature  of  his  boats  as 
well  as  his  horses  was  not  unlimited.) 

But  this  was  just  the  question  which  her  father  had 
suggested  as  an  example  of  a  subject  of  profitless  dis- 
cussion. She  remembered  this,  and  asked  herself  if 
it  was  likely  that  she,  having  at  her  command  fewer 
data  than  her  father  bearing  upon  this  case,  should 
make  a  better  attempt  than  he  made  at  its  solution. 
Her  father  had  seen  Herbert  Courtland  since  he  had 
agreed  to  go  on  the  cruise,  and  was  therefore  in  the 
better  position  to  arrive  at  a  reasonable  conclusion  in 
regard  to  the  source  of  the  impulse  upon  which  Mr. 
Courtland  had  acted  ;  so  much  she  thought  certain. 
And  yet  her  father  had  suggested  the  profitless  nature 
of  such  an  investigation,  and  her  father  was  certainly 
right. 

Only  for  a  single  moment  did  it  occur  to  her  that 
something  she  had  said  to  Herbert  Courtland  when  he 
was  sitting  there,  there  in  that  chair  beside  her,  might 
have  had  its  influence  upon  him — only  for  a  single 
moment,  however;  then  she  shook  her  head. 

No,  no !  that  supposition  was  too,  too  ridiculous  to  be 
entertained  for  a  moment.  He  had,  to  be  sure,  shown 
that  he  felt  deeply  the  words  which  she  had  quoted  as 
they  came  from  Mrs.  Haddon ;  but  what  could  those 
words  have  to  do  with  his  sudden  acceptance  of  Lord 
Earlscourt's  invitation  to  go  to  Norway  ? 

She  made  up  her  mind  that  it  was  nothing  to  her 
what  course  Herbert  Courtland  had  pursued,  conse- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  195 

1 

quently  the  endeavors  to  fathom  his  reason  for  adopt- 
ing such  a  course  would  be  wholly  profitless.  But  the 
question  of  the  singular  moods  suggested  by  the  con- 
duct and  the  words  of  her  friend  Ella  Linton  stood  on 
a  very  different  basis.  Ella  was  her  dearest  friend,  and 
nothing  that  she  had  said  or  done  should  be  dismissed 
as  profitless. 

What  on  earth  had  Ella  meant  by  appearing  in  that 
wonderful  costume  that  night?  It  was  not  a  toilet  for 
the  opera,  even  on  a  Melba  night  ;  even  on  a  "  Romeo 
and  Juliet"  night,  unless,  indeed,  the  wearer  meant  to 
appear  on  the  stage  as  Juliet,  was  the  thought  which 
occurred  to  the  girl.  Her  fantastic  thought — she 
thought  it  was  a  fantastic  thought — made  her  smile. 
Unless 

And  then  another  thought  came  to  her  which,  not 
being  fantastic,  banished  her  smile. 

Unless 

She  got  to  her  feet — very  slowly — and  walked  very 
slowly — across  the  room.  She  seated  herself  on  the 
sofa  where  Ella  had  sat,  and  she  remained  motionless 
for  some  minutes.  Then  she  made  a  motion  with  one 
of  her  hands  as  if  sweeping  from  before  her  eyes  some 
flimsy  repulsiveness — the  web  of  an  unclean  thing  flash- 
ing in  the  air.  In  another  instant  she  had  buried  her  face 
in  the  pillow  that  still  bore  the  impress  of  Ella's  face. 

"  Oh,  God — my  God,  forgive  me — forgive  me — for- 
give me  !  "  was  her  silent,  passionate  prayer  as  she  lay 
there  sobbing.  "  How  could  I  ever  have  such  a 
thought,  so  terrible  a  thought.  She  is  my  friend— 
my  sister — and  she  put  herself  into  her  husband's 
arms  and  kissed  him !  Oh,  God,  forgive  me  !" 


I96  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

That  was  her  prayer  for  the  greater  part  of  the  night 
as  she  lay  in  her  white  bed. 

She  felt  that  she  had  sinned  grievously  in  thought 
against  her  friend,  when  she  recalled  the  way  in  which 
her  friend  had  thrown  herself  into  the  arms  of  her 
husband.  That  was  the  one  action  which  the  girl 
felt  should  entitle  Ella  Linton  to  be  the  subject  of  no 
such  horrid  thought  as  had  been  for  a  shocking  instant 
forced  upon  her  mind,  when  she  reflected  upon  the 
strange  passion  which  had  tingled  through  Ella's  repe- 
tition of  the  fiery  words  of  Juliet. 

She  recalled  every  strange  element  in  the  incident 
of  Ella's  appearance  in  the  drawing  room :  the  way  in 
which  Ella  had  kissed  her  and  clung  to  her  as  a  child 
might  have  done  on  finding  someone  to  protect  it ; 
she  recalled  the  wild  words  which  Ella  had  uttered, 
and,  finally,  the  terrible  expression  which  had  appeared 
on  her  face  as  she  whispered  that  reckless  answer  to 
Phyllis'  question,  when  she  had  picked  up  her  wrap 
and  flung  it  around  her  just  before  the  sound  of  foot- 
steps had  come  to  their  ears.  All  that  she  recalled  in 
connection  with  that  extraordinary  visit  of  Ella's  was 
quite  unintelligible  to  her;  but  the  mystery  of  all 
was  more  than  neutralized  by  her  recollection  of  the 
way  Ella  had  thrown  herself  into  her  husband's  arms. 
That  action  should,  she  felt,  be  regarded  as  the  one 
important  factor,  as  it  were,  in  the  solution  of  the 
problem  of  Ella's  mood — Ella's  series  of  moods. 
Nothing  else  that  she  had  done,  nothing  that  she 
had  said,  was  worthy  of  being  taken  account  of,  along- 
side that  dominant  act  of  the  true  wife. 

The  little  whisper  which  suggested  to  her  that  there 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  197 

was  a  good  deal  that  was  mysterious  in  the  incident  of 
her  friend's  visit  she  refused  to  regard  as  rendering 
it  less  obligatory  on  her — Phyllis — to  pray  that  she 
might  be  forgiven  that  horrid  suspicion  which,  for  an 
instant,  had  come  to  her ;  and  so  she  fell  asleep  pray- 
ing to  God  to  forgive  her  for  her  sin  (in  thought) 
against  her  friend. 

And  while  Phyllis  was  praying  her  prayer,  her  friend, 
the  True  Wife,  was  praying  with  her  face  down  upon 
her  pillow,  and  her  bare  arms  stretched  out  over  the 
white  lace  of  the  bed  : 

"  Forgive  me,  O  God  ;  forgive  me  !  and  keep  him 
away  from  me — forever  and  ever  and  ever.  Amen." 

And  while  both  these  prayers  were  being  prayed, 
Herbert  Courtland  was  sitting  on  one  of  the  deck 
stools  of  the  yacht  Water  Nymph,  looking  back  at  the 
many  lights  that  gleamed  in  clusters  along  the  southern 
coast  of  England,  now  far  astern  ;  for  a  light  breeze 
was  sending  the  boat  along  with  a  creaming,  quivering 
wake.  In  the  bows  a  youth  was  making  the  night 
hideous  through  the  agency  of  a  banjo  and  a  sham 
negro  melody.  Amidships,  Lord  Earlscourt  and  two 
other  men  were  playing,  by  the  light  of  a  lantern  slung 
from  the  backstay,  a  game  called  poker ;  Lord  Earls- 
court,  at  every  fresh  deal,  trying  to  make  the  rest 
understand  how  greatly  the  worry  of  being  held  re- 
sponsible, as  the  patron  of  the  living  of  St.  Chad's,  for 
the  eccentricities  of  his  rector,  had  affected  his  nerves 
— a  matter  upon  which  his  friends  assured  him,  with 
varied  degrees  of  emphasis,  they  were  in  no  way 
interested. 

Within   a  few  feet    of   these   congenial   shipmates 


198  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Herbert  Courtland  sat  looking  across  the  shining 
ripples  to  the  shining  lights  of  the  coast ;  wondering 
how  he  came  to  be  on  the  sea  instead  of  on  the  shore. 
Was  this  indeed  the  night  over  which  his  imagination 
had  gloated  for  months  ?  Was  it  indeed  possible  that 
this  was  the  very  night  following  the  day — Thurs- 
day— for  which  he  had  engaged  himself  in  accordance 
with  the  letter  that  he  still  carried  in  his  pocket  ? 

How  on  earth  did  it  come  that  he  was  sitting 
with  his  arm  over  the  bulwarks  of  a  yacht  instead 

of Oh,  the  thing  was  a  miracle — a  miracle  !     He 

could  think  of  it  in  no  other  light  than  that  of  a 
miracle. 

Well,  if  it  were  a  miracle,  it  had  been  the  work  of 
God,  and  God  had  to  be  thanked  for  it.  He  had  ex- 
plained to  Phyllis  once  that  he  thought  of  God  only  as 
a  Principle — as  the  Principle  which  worked  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  principle  of  nature.  That  was  certainly 
the  God  which  had  been  evolved  out  of  modern  civili- 
zation. The  pagan  gods  had  been  just  the  opposite. 
They  had  been  founded  on  natural  principles.  The 
Hebrew  tradition  that  God  had  made  man  in  his  own 
image  was  the  reverse  of  the  scheme  of  the  pagan  man 
who  had  made  God  after  his  own  image  ;  in  the  image 
of  man  created  he  God. 

But  holding  the  theory  that  he  held — that  God  was 
the  sometimes  successful  opponent  to  the  principles  of 
nature  (which  he  called  the  Devil) — Herbert  Courtland 
felt  that  this  was  the  very  God  to  whom  his  thanks 
were  due  for  the  miracle  that  had  been  performed  on 
his  behalf. 

"  Thank  God— thank  God— thank  God  !  "   he   mur- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1L1STIA.  199 

mured,  looking  out  over  the  rippling  waters,  steel  gray 
in  the  soft  shadow  of  the  summer's  night. 

But  then  he  held  that  "  thank  God  "  was  but  a  figure 
of  speech. 

"  Tinky-tink,  tinky-tink,  tinky-tinky-tinky-tinky-tinky- 
tinky-tink,"  went  the  youth  with  the  banjo  in  the  bows. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

"  ITS     MOUTHINGS    OF     THE     PAST    HAD    BECOME  ITS 
MUMBLINGS   OF  THE    PRESENT." 

IT  was  very  distressing — very  disappointing  !  The 
bishop  would  neither  institute  proceedings  against 
the  rector  of  St.  Chad's  nor  state  plainly  if  it  was  his 
intention  to  proceed  against  that  clergyman.  When 
some  people  suggested  very  delicately — the  way  ordi- 
nary people  would  suggest  anything  to  a  bishop — that 
it  was  surely  not  in  sympathy  with  the  organization  of 
the  Church  for  any  clergyman  to  take  advantage  of  his 
position  and  his  pulpit  to  cast  sometimes  ridicule,  some- 
times abuse,  upon  certain  "  scriptural  characters  "- 
that  was  their  phrase — who  had  hitherto  always  been 
regarded  as  sacred,  comparatively  sacred,  the  bishop 
had  brought  the  tips  of  the  fingers  of  one  hand  in 
immediate,  or  almost  immediate,  contact  with  the 
tips  of  the  fingers  of  his  other  hand,  and  had  shaken 
his  head — mournfully,  sadly.  These  signs  of  acquies- 
cence, trifling  though  they  were,  had  encouraged  the 
deputation  that  once  waited  on  his  lordship — two 
military  men  (retired  on  the  age  clause),  an  officer  of 
engineers  (on  the  active  list),  a  solicitor  (retired),  and  a 
member  of  the  London  County  Council  (by  occupation 
an  ironmonger),  to  express  the  direct  opinion  that  the 
scandal  which  had  been  created  by  the  dissemination 
— the  unrebuked  dissemination — of  the  doctrines  held 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  2OI 

by  the  rector  of  St.  Chad's  was  affording  the  friends 
of  Disestablishment  an  additional  argument  in  favor 
of  their  policy  of  spoliation.  At  this  statement  his 
lordship  had  nodded  his  head  three  times  with  a 
gravity  that  deeply  impressed  the  spokesman  of  the 
deputation.  He  wondered  if  his  lordship  had  ever 
before  heard  that  phrase  about  the  furnishing  of  an 
additional  argument  to  the  friends  of  Disestablishment. 
(As  a  matter  of  fact  his  lordship  had  heard  it  before.) 

After  an  expression  of  the  deputation's  opinion  that 
immediate  steps  should  be  taken  to  make  the  rector 
of  St.  Chad's  amenable  to  the  laws  of  the  Church, 

His  lordship  replied. 

(It  was  his  facility  in  making  conciliatory  replies 
that  had  brought  about  his  elevation  in  the  Church) : 

He  referred  to  (i)  his  deep  appreciation  of  the  sin- 
cerity of  the  deputation  ;  (2)  his  own  sense  of  responsi- 
bility in  regard  to  the  feelings  of  the  weaker  brethren  ; 
(3)  his  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  counsel  of 
practical  men  in  many  affairs  of  the  Church  ;  (4)  the 
existing  position  of  the  Church  in  regard  to  the  laity  ; 
(5)  the  friendly  relations  that  had  always  existed  be- 
tween himself  personally  and  the  clergy  of  his  exten- 
sive diocese  ;  (6)  his  earnest  and  prayerful  desire  that 
these  relations  might  be  strengthened  ;  (7)  the  inse- 
curity of  a  house  divided  against  itself ;  (8)  the  progress 
of  socialism ;  (9)  the  impossibility  of  socialism  com- 
mending itself  to  Englishmen  ;  (10)  the  recent  anar- 
chist outrages;  (11)  the  purity  of  the  Court  of  her 
Majesty  the  Queen;  (12)  the  union  of  all  Christian 
Churches;  (13)  the  impossibility  of  such  union  ever 
becoming  permanent ;  (14)  the  value  of  Holy  Scripture 


202  PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA. 

in  daily  life  ;  (15)  his  firm  belief  in  the  achievement  of 
England's  greatness  by  means  of  the  open  Bible  ;  (16) 
the  note  of  pessimism  in  modern  life  ;  (17)  the  neces- 
sity for  the  Church's  combating  modern  pessimism  ; 
(18)  the  Church's  position  as  a  purveyor  of  healthy 
literature  for  the  young  ;  (19)  his  reluctance  to  take  up 
any  more  of  their  valuable  time,  and  (20)  his  assurance 
that  the  remarks  of  their  spokesman  would  have  his 
earnest  and  prayerful  attention. 

The  deputation  then  thanked  his  lordship  and  with- 
drew. 

But  still  the  bishop  made  no  move  in  the  matter, 
and  the  friends  of  the  Rev.  George  Holland  felt  griev- 
ously disappointed.  They  had  counted  on  the  bishop's 
at  least  writing  a  letter  of  remonstrance  to  the  rector 
of  St.  Chad's,  and  upon  the  publication  of  the  letter, 
with  the  rector's  reply,  in  the  newspapers  ;  but  now 
quite  two  months  had  passed  since  the  appearance  of 
"  Revised  Versions,"  the  bishop  had  returned  from 
the  Engadine,  and  still  there  were  no  indications  of  his 
intention  to  make  the  Rev.  George  Holland  respon- 
sible to  the  right  tribunal — whatever  that  was — for  his 
doctrines.  They  counted  on  his  martyrdom  within  six 
months ;  and,  consequently,  upon  his  election  to  a 
position  of  distinction  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow-country- 
men— or,  at  least,  of  his  country-women.  But  the 
bishop  they  found  to  be  a  poor  thing  after  all. 
They  felt  sure  that  what  people  said  about  his  being 
quite  humble  in  the  presence  of  his  wife  was  not 
without  some  foundation ;  and  they  thought  that, 
after  all,  there  was  a  great  deal  to  be  said  in  favor  of 
the  celibacy  of  priests  compulsory  in  the  Church  of 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  203 

Rome.  If  the  bishops  of  the  Church  of  England 
were  not  very  careful,  they  might  be  the  means  of 
such  a  going  over  to  Rome  as  had  never  previously 
been  witnessed  in  England. 

George  Holland  may  have  been  disappointed,  or  he 
may  have  been  pleased  at  the  inactivity  of  the  bishop. 
He  made  no  sign  one  way  or  the  other.  Of  course  he 
was  no  more  than  human :  he  would  have  regarded  a 
letter  of  remonstrance  from  the  bishop  as  a  personal 
compliment ;  he  had  certainly  expected  such  a  letter, 
for  he  had  already  put  together  the  heads  of  the  reply 
he  would  make — and  publish — to  any  official  remon- 
strance that  might  be  offered  to  him.  Still  he  made  no 
sign.  He  preached  at  least  one  sermon  every  Sunday 
morning,  and  whenever  it  was  known  that  he  would 
preach,  St.  Chad's  was  crowded  and  the  offertory  was 
all  that  could  be  desired.  The  bishop's  chaplain  no 
longer  held  a  watching  brief  in  regard  to  those  ser- 
mons. He  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  do  so  much, 
George  Holland's  friends  said,  shaking  their  heads  and 
pursing  out  their  lips.  Oh,  yes  !  there  could  be  no 
doubt  that  the  bishop  was  a  very  weak  sort  of  man. 

But  then  suddenly  there  appeared  in  the  new  number 
of  the  Zeit  Geist  Review  an  article  above  the  signature 
of  George  Holland,  entitled  "  The  Enemy  to  Christ- 
ianity," and  in  a  moment  it  became  pretty  plain  that 
George  Holland  had  not  in  his  "  Revised  Versions," 
said  the  last  word  that  he  had  to  say  regarding  the 
attitude  of  the  Church  of  England  in  respect  of  the 
non-church-goers  of  the  day.  When  people  read  the 
article  they  asked  "  Who  is  the  Enemy  to  Christianity 
referred  to  by  the  writer  ?  "  and  they  were  forced  to 


204  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1I.ISTIA. 

conclude  that  the  answer  which  was  made  to  such  an 
inquiry  by  the  article  itself  was,  "  The  Church." 

He  pointed  out  the  infatuation  which  possessed  the 
heads  of  the  Church  of  England  in  expecting  to  ap- 
peal with  success  to  the  educated  people  of  the  present 
day,  while  still  declining  to  move  with  the  course  of 
thought  of  the  people.  Already  the  braying  of  a  trom- 
bone out  of  tune,  and  the  barbarous  jingle  of  a  tam- 
bourine, had  absorbed  some  hundred  thousand  of  pos- 
sible church-goers ;  and  though,  of  course,  it  was 
impossible  for  sensible  men  and  women — the  people 
whom  the  Church  should  endeavor  to  grapple  to  its 
soul  with  hooks  of  steel — to  look,  except  with  amused 
sadness,  at  the  ludicrous  methods  and  vulgar  ineptitude 
of  the  Salvation  Army,  still  the  Church  was  making  no 
effort  to  provide  the  sensible,  thinking,  educated  people 
of  England  with  an  equivalent  as  suitable  to  their  re- 
quirements as  the  Salvation  Army  was  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  foolish,  the  hysterical,  the  unthinking 
people  who  played  the  tambourines  and  brayed  on  the 
tuneless  trombones.  Thus  it  is  that  one  man  says  to 
another  nowadays,  when  he  has  got  nothing  better  to 
talk  about,  "  Are  you  a  man  of  intelligence,  or  do  you 
go  to  church  ?  " 

Men  of  intelligence  do  not  go  to  church  nowadays, 
Mr.  Holland  announced  in  that  article  of  his  in  the 
Zeit  Geist ;  many  women  of  intelligence  refrain  from 
going,  he  added,  though  many  beautifully  dressed 
women  were  still  frequent  attenders.  There  was  no 
blinking  the  fact  that  the  crass  stupidity  of  the  Church 
had  made  church-going  unpopular — almost  impossible 
— with  intelligent  men  and  women.  The  Church  in- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  205 

suited  the  intelligence  by  trying  to  reconcile  the  teach- 
ings of  Judaism  with  the  teachings  of  Christianity,  when 
the  two  were  absolutely  irreconcilable.  It  was  the 
crass  stupidity  of  the  Church  that  had  caused  it — for 
its  self-protection,  it  fancied — to  bitterly  oppose  every 
Truth  that  was  revealed  to  man.  The  Church  had 
tortured  and  burned  at  the  stake  the  great  men  to 
whom  God  had  revealed  the  great  facts  of  nature's 
workings — the  motion  of  the  earth  and  the  other 
planets.  But  these  facts,  being  Divine  Truth,  became 
accepted  by  the  world  in  spite  of  the  thumb-screws  and 
the  fagots — the  arguments  of  the  Church  against 
Divine  Truth.  The  list  of  the  Divine  Truths  which 
the  Church  had  bitterly  opposed  was  a  sickening  docu- 
ment. Geography,  Geology,  Biology — the  progress  of 
all  had,  even  within  recent  years,  been  bitterly  opposed 
by  the  Church,  and  yet  the  self-constituted  arbiters 
between  Truth  and  falsehood  had  been  compelled  to 
eat  their  own  words — to  devour  their  own  denuncia- 
tions when  they  found  that  the  Truth  was  accepted  by 
the  intelligence  of  the  people  in  spite  of  the  anathe- 
mas of  the  Church. 

The  intelligence  of  the  Church  was  equal  only  to 
the  duty  of  burning  witches.  It  burned  them  by  the 
thousand,  simply  because  ancient  Judaism  had  a  pro- 
found belief  in  the  witch  and  because  a  blood-thirsty 
Jewish  murderer-monarch  had  organized  a  witch-hunt. 

And  yet  with  such  a  record  against  it — a  record  of 
the  murder  of  innocent  men  and  women  who  en- 
deavored to  promulgate  the  Divine  Truths  of  nature — 
the  Church  still  arrogated  to  itself  the  right  to  lay 
down  a  rule  of  life  for  intelligent  people — a  rule  of 


206  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

life  founded  upon  that  impossible  amalgamation  of 
Judaism  and  Christianity.  The  science  of  the  Church 
was  not  equal  to  the  task  of  amalgamating  two  such 
deadly  opponents. 

Was  it  any  wonder,  then,  that  church-going  had 
become  practically  obsolete  among  intelligent  men  and 
women  ?  the  writer  asked. 

He  then  went  on  to  refer  to  the  nature  of  the  exist- 
ing services  of  the  Church  of  England.  He  dealt  only 
casually  with  the  mockery  of  the  response  of  the  con- 
gregation to  the  reading  out  of  the  Fourth  Command- 
ment by  the  priest,  when  no  one  in  the  Church  paid 
the  least  respect  to  the  Seventh  Day.  This  was 
additional  proof  of  the  absurdity  of  the  attempted 
amalgamation  of  Judaism  and  Christianity.  But  what 
he  dealt  most  fully  with  was  the  indiscriminate  selec- 
tion of  what  were  very  properly  termed  the  "  Lessons" 
from  the  Hebrew  Bible.  It  was,  he  said,  far  from 
edifying  to  hear  some  chapters  read  out  from  the 
lectern  without  comment ;  though  fortunately  the 
readers  were  as  a  rule  so  imperfectly  trained  that  the 
most  objectionable  passages  had  their  potentiality  of 
mischief  minimized.  He  concluded  his  indictment  by 
a  reference  to  the  sermon  preached  by  the  average 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England.  This  was, 
usually,  he  said,  either  a  theological  essay  founded 
upon  an  obsolete  system  of  theology,  or  a  series  of 
platitudes  of  morality  delivered  by  an  unpractical 
man.  The  first  was  an  insult  to  the  intelligence  of  an 
average  man  ;  the  second  was  an  insult  to  the  intelli- 
gence of  an  average  schoolgirl. 

His   summing   up   of   the   whole   case   against   the 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHTLISTIA.  207 

Church  was  as  logical  as  it  was  trenchant.  The  Church 
had  surely  become,  he  said,  like  unto  the  Giant  Pagan 
in  "  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  who,  when  incapable  of 
doing  mischief,  sat  mumbling  at  the  mouth  of  his  cave 
on  the  roadside.  The  Church  had  become  toothless, 
decrepit  either  for  evil  or  for  good.  Its  mouthings  of 
the  past  had  become  its  mumblings  of  the  present. 
The  cave  at  the  mouth  of  which  this  toothless  giant 
sat  was  very  dark ;  and  intelligent  people  went  by  with 
a  good-natured  and  tolerant  laugh. 

This  article  was  published  in  the  Review  on  Tues- 
day. Phyllis  read  it  on  the  evening  of  that  day.  On 
Wednesday  the  newspapers  were  full  of  this  further 
development  of  the  theories  of  the  writer,  and  on 
Thursday  afternoon  the  writer  paid  a  visit  to  Phyllis. 

As  he  entered  the  drawing  room  he  found  himself 
face  to  face  with  Herbert  Courtland,  who  was  in  the 
act  of  leaving. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

"  SHE   WAS    A    WIFE,    AND    SHE    HAD    A    LOVER    WHO 
DISAPPOINTED   HER." 

THE  prayer  of  Ella  Linton  had  not  been  answered. 
She  had  prayed,  not  that  her  heart  wherewith  she 
loved  Herbert  Courtland  might  be  changed — that  she 
knew  would  be  difficult ;  not  that  her  love  for  Herbert 
Courtland  might  cease — that  she  believed  to  be  im- 
possible ;  but  simply  that  Herbert  Courtland  might  be 
kept  away  from  her — that  she  knew  to  be  the  most 
sensible  course  her  scheme  of  imploration  could  take. 

She  was  well  aware  of  the  fact  that  God  had  given 
her  strength  to  run  away  from  Herbert  Courtland,  and 
for  that  she  was  sincerely  thankful ;  she  did  not  pause 
to  analyze  her  feelings,  to  ask  herself  if  her  thanks 
were  due  to  her  reflection  upon  the  circumstance  of 
her  husband's  return,  at  the  very  hour  when  she  had 
appointed  to  meet  Herbert  Courtland  ;  she  only  felt 
that  God  had  been  good  to  her  in  giving  her  sufficient 
strength  to  run  away  from  that  appointment.  Then  it 
was  that  she  had  prayed  that  he  might  be  kept  away 
from  her.  Surely  God  would  find  it  easy  to  do  that, 
she  thought.  Surely  she  might  assume  that  God  was 
on  her  side,  and  that  he  would  not  leave  his  work 
half  done. 

But  when  she  began  to  think  of  the  thorough  man- 
ner in  which  God  does  his  work  she  began  to  wish 


PHYLLIS    OF  PHILISTIA.  209 

that  she  had  not  prayed  quite  so  earnestly.  Suppos- 
ing that  God  should  think  fit  to  keep  him  away  from 
her  by  sending  a  blast  from  heaven  to  capsize  that 
yacht  in  the  deep  sea,  what  would  she  think  of  the 
fervency  of  her  prayer  then  ? 

The  terror  of  her  reflection  upon  the  possibility  of 
this  occurrence  flung  her  from  her  bed  and  sent  her 
pacing,  with  bare  feet  and  flying  lace,  the  floor  of  her 
bedroom  in  the  first  pearly  light  of  dawn,  just  as  she 
had  paced  the  floor  of  Phyllis'  drawing  room  beneath 
the  glow  of  the  electric  lights. 

She  wished  that  she  had  not  prayed  quite  so 
earnestly  that  he  might  be  kept  apart  from  her.  But 
one  cannot  pray  hot  and  cold ;  she  felt  that  she  had 
no  right  now  to  lay  down  any  conditions  to  Heaven  in 
the  matter  of  keeping  Herbert  Courtland  away  from 
her.  She  had  prayed  her  prayer;  only,  if  he  were 
drowned  before  she  saw  him  again,  she  would  never 
say  another  prayer. 

This  feeling  that  she  would  be  even  with  Heaven,  so 
to  speak,  had  the  effect  of  soothing  her.  She  threw 
herself  upon  her  bed  once  more  and  was  able  to  fall 
asleep ;  she  had  a  considerable  amount  of  confidence 
in  the  discrimination  of  Heaven. 

But  before  she  had  come  down  to  the  breakfast 
room  where  her  husband  was  reading  a  newspaper 
in  the  morning,  she  had  thought  a  good  deal  upon 
another  matter  that  disquieted  her  in  some  degree. 
She  had  been  exuberant  (she  thought)  at  having  had 
sufficient  strength  given  to  her  to  run  away  from  her 
lover  ;  but  then  she  had  not  dwelt  upon  the  rather 
important  circumstance  that  all  the  running  away  had 


210  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

not  been  on  her  side.  What  were  the  facts  as  revealed 
by  the  narrative  of  Mr.  Ayrton  ?  Why,  simply,  that 
while  she  was  putting  on  that  supreme  toilet  which  she 
had  prepared  for  the  delight  of  the  eyes  of  her  lover 
(feeling  herself  to  be  a  modern  Cleopatra),  that  lover 
of  hers  was  sitting  on  the  cushions  of  a  first-class  car- 
riage, flying  along  to  Southampton  ;  and  while  she  had 
been  lying  among  the  cushions  of  her  drawing  room, 
waiting  tremulously,  nervously,  ecstatically,  for  the 
dreary  minutes  to  crawl  on  until  the  clock  should 
chime  the  hour  of  nine,  he  was  probably  lighting  his 
first  pipe  aboard  the  yacht  Water  Nymph.  What  did 
it  matter  that  she  had  lifted  her  hot  face  from  her 
cushions  and  had  fled  in  wild  haste  to  the  arms  of 
Phyllis  Ayrton  ?  The  fact  remained  the  same ;  it  was 
he  who  had  run  away  from  her. 

That  was  a  terrible  reflection.  Hitherto  she  had 
never  felt  humiliated.  She  had  not  felt  that  he  had 
insulted  her  by  his  kisses ;  she  had  given  him  kiss  for 
kiss.  She  had  but  to  hold  up  her  finger  and  he  was 
ready  to  obey  her.  But  now — what  was  she  to  think 
of  him?  Had  ever  man  so  humiliated  woman?  She 
had  offered  him,  not  her  heart  but  her  soul — had  he  not 
told  her  a  few  days  before  that  he  meant  her  to  give 
him  her  soul  ?  and  when  she  had  laid  heart  and  soul 
at  his  feet — that  was  how  she  put  it  to  herself — he  had 
not  considered  it  worth  his  while  to  take  the  priceless 
gift  that  she  offered  to  him. 

"  He  will  answer  to  me  for  that,"  she  said,  as  she 
thought  over  her  humiliation,  in  front  of  her  dressing- 
glass  that  morning,  while  her  maid  was  absent  from 
the  room. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  211 

Her  wish  was  now  not  that  her  prayer  had  been  less 
earnest,  but  that  it  had  not  been  uttered  at  all.  It  was 
necessary  for  her  to  meet  him  again  in  order  that  he 
might  explain  to  her  how  it  came  that  he  had  preferred 
the  attractions  incidental  to  a  cruise  with  Lord  Earls- 
court  and  his  friends  to  all  that  she  had  written  to 
offer  him. 

And  yet  when  her  husband,  after  having  quite  fin- 
ished  with  his  paper,  said  : 

"  It's  very  awkward  that  Herbert  Courtland  is  not  in 
town," 

She  merely  raised  her  shoulders  an  inch,  saying: 

"  I  suppose  that  he  has  a  right  to  take  a  holiday  now 
and  then.  If  you  didn't  telegraph  to  him  from  Paris, 
you  cannot  complain." 

"  I  felt^certain  that  I  should  find  him  here,"  said  the 
husband. 

"  Here  ? "  said  the  wife,  raising  her  eyebrows 
and  casting  an  offended  glance  at  her  husband. 
"  Here  ?  " 

He  smiled  in  the  face  of  her  offended  glance. 

"  Here — in  London,  I  mean,  of  course.  Heavens, 

Ella  !  did  you  fancy  for  a  moment  that  I  meant 

Ah,  by  the  way,  you  have  seen  him  recently?" 

"  Oh,  yes ;  quite  recently — on  Tuesday,  I  think  it 
was,  we  met  at  the  Ayrton's  dinner  party — yes,  it  was 
Tuesday.  There  was  some  fuss,  or  attempted  fuss, 
about  his  adventures  in  New  Guinea,  and  a  question 
was  being  asked  about  the  matter  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  Mr.  Ayrton  got  rid  of  some  of  his  super- 
fluous cleverness  in  putting  a  counter-question — you 
know  the  way." 


212  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA 

"  Oh,  perfectly  well !  And  that  is  how  you  met  on 
Tuesday — if  it  was  Tuesday?" 

"  Yes ;  he  went  to  thank  Mr.  Ayrton,  and  Mr.  Ayr- 
ton  asked  him  to  dinner.  It  was  a  small  party,  and 
not  very  brilliant.  Herbert  came  here  with  me  after- 
ward— for  five  minutes." 

"Ah  !  To  get  the  taste  of  the  party  off  his  mouth, 
I  suppose  ?  He  didn't  say  anything  to  you  then  about 
being  tired  of  his  London  season?" 

"  Not  a  word.  He  seemed  tired  of  the  dinner 
party.  He  yawned." 

"  And  I'm  sure  that  you  yawned  in  sympathy. 
When  a  man  so  far  forgets  himself  as  to  yawn  in  the 
presence  of  a  woman,  she  never  fails  to  respond  with 
one  of  more  ample  circumference.  When  a  woman  so 
far  remembers  herself  as  to  yawn  in  the  presence  of  a 
man,  he  tries  to  say  something  witty." 

"  Yes,  when  the  woman  is  not  his  wife.  If  she  is  his 
wife,  he  asks  her  if  she  doesn't  think  it's  about  time 
she  was  in  bed." 

"  I  dare  say  you're  right ;  you  have  observed  men — 
and  women,  for  that  matter — much  more  closely  than 
I  have  had  time  to  do.  It's  very  awkward  that  he 
isn't  here.  I  must  bring  him  back  at  once." 

She  felt  a  little  movement  at  her  heart ;  but  she  only 
said  : 

"  I  wouldn't  do  that,  if  I  were  you.  Why  shouldn't 
he  be  allowed  to  enjoy  his  holiday  in  peace?" 

"  It's  a  matter  of  business  ;  the  mine,  I  told  you." 

"  What's  wrong  with  the  mine  that  could  be  set 
right  by  his  coming  back  at  once  ?  Are  you  not  mak- 
ing enough  out  of  it  ?  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTJA.  213 

"  We're  making  quite  as  much  as  is  good  for  us  out 
of  it.  But  if  we  can  get  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
pounds  for  a  few  yards  of  our  claim  further  east,  with- 
out damaging  the  prospects  of  the  mine  itself,  I  don't 
think  we  should  refuse  it — at  any  rate,  I  don't  think 
that  we  should  refuse  to  consider  the  offer." 

"  What  is  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  ?  " 
said  she. 

"  I  wonder  why  you  dressed  yourself  as  you  did  last 
night  ?  "  said  he. 

The  suddenness  of  the  words  did  not  cause  her  to 
quail  as  the  guilty  wife  quails — yes,  under  a  properly 
managed  lime-light.  She  did  not  even  color.  But 
then,  of  course,  she  was  not  a  guilty  wife. 

She  lay  back  on  her  chair  and  laughed. 

He  watched  her — not  eagerly,  but  pleasantly, 
admiringly. 

"  My  dear  Stephen,  if  you  could  understand  why  I 
dressed  myself  that  way  you  would  be  able  to  give  me 
a  valuable  hint  as  to  where  the  connection  lies  between 
your  mine  and  my  toilet — I  need  such  a  hint  now,  I 
can  assure  you." 

She  was  sitting  up  now  looking  at  him  with  lovely 
laughing  eyes.  (After  all,  she  was  no  guilty  wife.) 

"  What,  you  can't  see  the  connection  ? "  he  said 
slowly.  "  You  can  sew  over  your  dress  about  fifty 
thousand  pounds'  worth  of  diamonds,  and  yet  you 
don't  see  the  connection  between  the  wearing  of  that 
dress  and  the  development  of  a  gold  mine  by  your 
husband  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  see  it  now — something  of  a  connection. 
But  I  don't  want  any  more  diamonds  ;  I  don't  care  if 


214  PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA. 

you  take  all  that  are  sewed  about  the  dress- and  throw 
them  into  the  river.  That's  how  I  feel  this  morning." 

"  I  heard  some  time  ago  of  a  woman  who  had  some- 
thing of  your  mood  upon  her  one  day.  She  had  some 
excellent  diamonds,  and  in  one  of  her  moods,  she 
flung  them  into  the  river.  She  was  a  wife  and  she  had 
a  lover  who  disappointed  her.  The  story  reads  very 
smoothly  in  verse." 

She  laughed. 

"  I  have  no  lover,"  she  said — was  it  mournfully  ?  "  I 
have  a  husband,  it  is  true ;  but  he  is  not  exactly  of  the 
type  of  King  Arthur — nor  Sir  Galahad,  for  that  mat- 
ter. I  hope  you  found  Paris  as  enjoyable  as  ever?" 

"  Quite.  I  never  saw  at  Paris  a  more  enrapturing 
toilet  than  yours  of  last  night.  You  are,  I  know,  the 
handsomest  woman  of  my  acquaintance,  and  you 
looked  handsomer  than  I  had  ever  before  seen  you  in 
that  costume.  I  wonder  why  you  put  it  on." 

"  Didn't  someone — was  it  Phyllis  ? — suggest  that  it 
was  an  act  of  inspiration  ;  that  I  had  a  secret,  mys- 
terious prompting  to  put  it  on  to  achieve  the  object 
which — well,  which  I  did  achieve." 

"  Object  ?     What  object  ?  " 

"  To  make  my  husband  fall  in  love  with  me  again." 

"  Ah  !  In  love  there  is  no  again.  I  wonder  where 
a  telegram  would  find  Herbert." 

"  Don't  worry  yourself  about  him.  Let  him  enjoy 
his  holiday." 

"  Do  you  fancy  he  is  enjoying  himself  with  Earls- 
court  and  his  boon  companions  ?  They'll  be  playing 
poker  from  morning  till  night — certainly  from  night 
till  morning." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  215 

"  Why  should  he  go  on  the  cruise  if  he  was  not  cer- 
tain to  enjoy  himself  ?  " 

"  Ah,  that  question  is  too  much  for  me.  Think 
over  it  yourself  and  let  me  know  if  you  come  to  a 
solution,  my  dear." 

He  rose  and  left  the  room  before  she  could  make 
any  answer — before  she  could  make  an  attempt  to 
find  out  in  what  direction  his  thoughts  regarding  the 
departure  of  Herbert  Courtland  were  moving. 

She  wondered  if  he  had  any  suspicion  in  regard  to 
Herbert  and  herself.  He  was  not  a  man  given  to  sus- 
picion, or  at  any  rate,  given  to  allowing  whatever 
suspicion  he  may  have  felt,  to  be  apparent.  He  had 
allowed  her  to  drive  and  to  ride  with  Herbert  Court- 
land  during  the  four  months  they  had  been  together, 
first  at  Egypt,  then  at  Florence,  Vienna,  Munich,  and 
Paris,  and  he  could  not  but  have  seen  that  Herbert 
and  she  had  a  good  many  sympathies  in  common. 
Not  a  word  had  been  breathed,  however,  of  a  sus- 
picion that  they  were  more  than  good  friends  to  each 
other. 

(As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  had  not  been  more  than 
good  friends  to  each  other  ;  but  then  some  husbands 
are  given  to  unworthy  suspicions.) 

Could  it  be  possible,  she  asked  herself,  that  some 
people  with  nasty  minds  had  suggested  to  him  in 
Paris  that  she  and  Herbert  were  together  a  great  deal 
in  London,  and  that  he  had  been  led  to  make  this 
sudden  visit,  this  surprise  visit  to  London,  with  a 
view  of  satisfying  himself  as  to  the  truth  of  the  nasty 
reports — the  disgraceful  calumnies  which  had  reached 
his  ears  ? 


2i6  PHYLLIS  OF  PHI  LIST! A. 

If  he  had  done  so,  all  that  could  be  said  was  that  he 
had  been  singularly  unfortunate  in  regard  to  his  visit. 
"  Unfortunate  "  was  the  word  which  was  in  her  mind, 
though,  of  course,  "fortunate  "  was  the  word  which 
should  have  occurred  to  her.  It  was  certainly  a  fortu- 
nate result  of  his  visit — that  tableau  in  the  drawing 
room  of  Mr.  Ayrton :  Ella  and  her  dearest  friend 
standing  side-by  side,  hand  in  hand,  as  he  entered.  A 
surprise  visit,  it  may  have  been,  but  assuredly  the 
surprise  was  a  pleasant  one  for  the  husband,  if  he  had 
listened  to  the  voice  of  calumny. 

And  then,  after  pondering  upon  this  with  a  smiling 
face,  her  smile  suddenly  vanished.  She  was  over- 
whelmed with  the  thought  of  what  might  have  been 
the  result  of  that  surprise  visit — yes,  if  she  had  not 
had  the  strength  to  run  away  to  the  side  of  Phyllis ; 
yes,  if  Herbert  had  not  had  the  weakness  to  join  that 
party  of  poker-players  aboard  the  yacht. 

She  began  to  wonder  what  her  husband  would  have 
done  if  he  had  entered  the  house  by  the  aid  of  his 
latch-key,  and  had  found  her  sitting  in  that  lovely 
costume  by  the  side  of  Herbert  Courtland  ?  Would 
he  have  thought  her  a  guilty  woman  ?  Would  he 
have  thought  Herbert  a  false  friend  ?  Would  he  have 
killed  her,  or  would  he  have  killed  Herbert  ?  Herbert 
would,  she  thought,  take  a  good  deal  of  killing  from  a 
man  of  the  caliber  of  her  husband  ;  but  what  could 
she  have  done  ? 

Well,  what  she  did,  as  the  force  of  that  thought 
crushed  her  back  upon  her  chair,  was  to  bring  her 
hands  together  in  a  passionate  clasp,  and  to  cry  in  a 
passionate  gasp : 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  217 

"  Thank  God — thank  God — thank  God  !  " 

She  dined  alone  with  her  husband  that  night,  and 
thought  it  well  to  appear  in  another  evening  toilet — 
one  that  was  quite  as  lovely,  though  scarcely  so  strik- 
ing, as  that  which  her  husband  had  so  admired  the 
previous  night.  He  clearly  appreciated  her  efforts 
to  maintain  her  loveliness  in  his  eyes,  and  their  little 
dinner  was  a  very  pleasant  one. 

He  told  her  that  he  had  learned  that  the  yacht 
Water  Nymph  would  put  in  to  Leith  before  crossing 
the  North  Sea,  and  that  he  had  written  to  Herbert 
Courtland  at  that  port  to  return  without  delay. 

"  You  did  wrong,"  said  she ;  and  she  felt  that  she 
was  speaking  the  truth. 

"  I  don't  think  so,"  he  replied.  "  At  any  rate,  you 
may  rest  perfectly  certain  that  Herbert  will  receive  my 
letter  with  gratitude." 

And  Mr.  Linton's  judgment  on  this  point  was  not 
in  error.  Herbert  Courtland  received,  on  the  evening 
of  the  third  day  after  leaving  Southampton,  the  letter 
which  called  him  back  to  London,  and  he  contrived  to 
conceal  whatever  emotion  he  may  have  felt  at  the 
prospect  of  parting  from  his  shipmates.  They  accom- 
panied him  ashore,  however — they  had  worn  out  six 
packs  of  cards  already,  and  were  about  to  buy  another 
dozen  or  two,  to  see  them  safely  through  the  imposing 
scenery  of  the  Hardanger  Fjord. 

The  next  day  he  was  in  London,  and  it  was  on  the 
evening  of  that  same  day  that  he  came  face  to  face 
with  the  Rev.  George  Holland  outside  Miss  Ayrton's 
drawing  room. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

"LIES!    LIES!    LIES!" 

"  YOU  should  have  come  a  little  sooner/'  said 
Phyllis  .quite  pleasantly.  "  Mr.  Courtland  was  giving 
me  such  an  amusing  account  of  his  latest  voyage. 
Will  you  have  tea  or  iced  coffee  ?  " 

"  Tea,  if  you  please,"  said  George  Holland,  also 
quite  pleasantly.  "  Has  Mr.  Courtland  been  on 
another  voyage  of  discovery  ?  What  has  he  left 
himself  to  discover  in  the  world  of  waters  ? " 

"  I  think  that  what  he  discovered  on  his  latest  voy- 
age was  the  effect  of  a  banjo  on  the  human  mind," 
laughed  Phyllis.  "  He  was  aboard  Lord  Earlscourt's 
yacht,  the  Water  Nymph.  Some  other  men  were 
there  also.  One  of  them  had  an  idea  that  he  could 
play  upon  the  banjo.  He  was  wrong,  Mr.  Courtland 
thinks." 

"  A  good  many  people  are  subject  to  curious  no- 
tions of  the  same  type.  They  usually  take  an  optimis- 
tic view  of  the  susceptibilities  of  enjoyment  of  their 
neighbors — not  that  there  is  any  connection  between 
enjoyment  and  a  banjo." 

"  Mr.  Courtland  said  just  now  that  when  Dr.  John- 
son gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  music  was,  of  all  noises, 
the  least  disagreeable,  the  banjo  had  not  been  in- 
vented." 

"  That    assumes    that    there    is    some    connection 

H* 


PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA.  219 

between  music  and  the  banjo,  and  that's  going  just  a 
little  too  far,  don't  you  think  ?  " 

"  I  should  like  to  hear  Dr.  Johnson's  criticism  of 
Paderewski." 

"  His  criticism  of  Signer  Piozzi  is  extant :  a  fine 
piece  of  eighteenth  century  directness." 

"  I  sometimes  long  for  an  hour  or  two  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  You  remember  Fanny  Burney's 
reference  to  the  gentleman  who  thought  it  prepos- 
terous that  Reynolds  should  have  increased  his  price 
for  a  portrait  to  thirty  guineas,  though  he  admitted 
that  Reynolds  was  a  good  enough  sort  of  man  for  a 
painter.  I  think  I  should  like  to  have  an  hour  with 
that  man." 

"  I  long  for  more  than  that.  I  should  like  to  have 
seen  David  Garrick's  reproduction,  for  the  benefit  of 
his  schoolfellows,  of  Dr.  Johnson's  love  passages  with 
his  very  mature  wife.  I  should  also  like  to  have  heard 
the  complete  story  of  old  Grouse  in  the  gun  room." 

"  Told  by  Squire  Hardcastle,  of  course  ?  " 

"  Of  course.  I  question  if  there  was  anything  very 
much  better  heard  aboard  the  Water  Nymph.  By  the 
way,  Lady  Earlscourt  invited  me  to  join  the  yachting 
party.  She  did  not  mention  it  to  her  husband,  how- 
ever. She  thought  that  there  should  be  a  chaplain 
aboard.  Now,  considering  that  Lord  Earlscourt  had 
told  me  the  previous  day  that  he  was  compelled  to 
take  to  the  sea  solely  on  account  of  the  way  people 
were  worrying  him  about  me,  I  think  that  I  did  the 
right  thing  when  I  told  her  that  I  should  be  compelled 
to  stay  at  home  until  the  appearance  of  a  certain 
paper  of  mine  in  the  Zeit  Geist  Review" 


220  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  I'm  sure  that  you  did  the  right  thing  when  you 
stayed  at  home." 

"  And  in  writing  the  paper  in  the  Zeit  Geist  ?  You 
have  read  it  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes  !  I  have  read  it." 

"  You  don't  like  it  ?  " 

"  How  could  I  like  it  ?  You  have  known  me  now 
for  some  time.  How  could  you  fancy  that  I  should 
like  it — that  is,  if  you  thought  of  me  at  all  in  connec- 
tion with  it  ?  I  don't  myself  see  why  you  should  think 
of  me  at  all." 

He  rose  and  stood  before  her.  She  had  risen  to 
take  his  empty  cup  from  him. 

"  Don't  you  know  that  I  think  of  you  always, 
Phyllis?  "  he  said,  in  that  low  tone  of  his  which  flowed 
around  the  hearts  of  his  hearers,  and  made  their  hearts 
as  one  with  his  heart.  "  Don't  you  know  that  I 
think  of  you  always — that  all  my  hopes  are  centered  in 
you  ?  " 

"  I  am  so  sorry  if  that  is  the  case,  Mr.  Holland,"  said 
she.  "  I  don't  want  to  give  you  pain,  but  I  must  tell 
you  again  what  I  told  you  long  ago :  you  have  passed 
completely  out  of  my  life.  If  you  had  not  done  so 
before,  the  publication  of  that  article  in  the  Zeit  Geist 
would  force  me  to  tell  you  that  you  had  done  so  now. 
To  me  my  religion  has  always  been  a  living  thing ; 
my  Bible  has  been  my  guide.  You  trampled  upon 
the  one  some  months  ago,  you  have  trampled  on  the 
other  now.  You  shocked  me,  Mr.  Holland." 

"  I  have  always  loved  you,  Phyllis.  I  think  I  love 
you  now  better  than  I  ever  did,  if  that  were  possi- 
ble," said  he,  "  I  am  overwhelmed  with  grief  at  the 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  221 

thought  of  the  barrier  which  your  fancy  has  built  up 
between  us." 

"Fancy?" 

"  Your  fancy,  dear  child.  I  feel  that  the  barrier 
which  you  fancy  is  now  between  us  is  unworthy  of 
you." 

"  What  ?  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  think  that 
my  detestation — my — my — horror  of  your  sneers  at 
the  Bible,  which  I  believe  to  be  the  Word  of  God — of 
the  contempt  you  have  heaped  upon  the  Church  which 
I  believe  to  be  God's  agent  on  earth  for  the  salvation 
of  men's  souls — do  you  think  that  my  detestation  of 
these  is  a  mere  girlish  fancy  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  that,  Phyllis.  What  I  do  think  is, 
that  if  you  had  ever  loved  me  you  would  be  ready  to 
stand  by  my  side  now — to  be  guided  by  me  in  a  mat- 
ter which  I  have  made  the  study  of  my  life." 

"  In  such  matters  as  these — the  value  or  the  worth- 
lessness  of  the  Bible  ;  the  value  or  the  worthlessness 
of  the  Church — I  require  no  guide,  Mr.  Holland.  I  do 
not  need  to  go  to  a  priest  to  ask  if  it  is  wrong  to  steal, 
to  covet  another's  goods,  to  honor  my  father —  Oh, 
I  cannot  discuss  what  is  so  very  obvious.  The  Bible  I 
regard  as  precious  ;  you  think  that  you  are  in  a  posi- 
tion to  edit  it  as  if  it  were  an  ordinary  book.  The 
Church  I  regard  as  the  Temple  of  God  upon  the  earth  ; 
you  think  that  it  exists  only  to  be  sneered  at  ?  and  yet 
you  talk  of  fanciful  barriers  between  us !  " 

"  I  consider  it  the  greatest  privilege  of  a  man  on 
earth  to  be  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  Christ." 

"  Why,  then,  do  you  take  every  opportunity  of  point- 
ing to  it  as  the  greatest  enemy  to  Christianity?" 


222  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  The  Church  of  to-day  represents  some  results  of 
the  great  Reformation.  That  Reformation  was  due 
to  the  intelligence  of  those  men  who  perceived  that  it 
had  become  the  enemy  to  freedom  ;  the  enemy  to  the 
development  of  thought ;  the  enemy  to  the  aspirations 
of  a  great  nation.  The  nation  rejoiced  in  the  freedom 
of  thought  of  which  the  great  charter  was  the  Reform- 
ation. But  during  the  hundreds  of  years  that  have 
elapsed  since  that  Reformation,  some  enormous 
changes  have  been  brought  about  in  the  daily  life  of 
the  people  of  this  great  nation.  The  people  are  being 
educated,  and  the  Church  must  sooner  or  later  face  the 
fact  that  as  education  spreads  church-going  decreases. 
Why  is  that,  I  ask  you  ?  " 

"  Because  men  are  growing  more  wicked  every  day." 

"  But  they  are  not.  Crime  is  steadily  decreasing  as 
education  is  spreading,  and  yet  people  will  not  go  to 
church.  They  will  go  to  lectures,  to  bands  of  music, 
to  political  demonstrations,  but  they  will  not  go  to 
church.  The  reason  they  will  not  go  is  because  they 
know  that  they  will  hear  within  the  church  statements 
at  which  the  reason  of  every  educated  person  revolts ; 
because  they  know  that  they  will  hear  within  the 
church  the  arguments  of  men  whose  minds  are  stunted 
by  a  narrow  theological  course  against  every  discovery 
of  science  or  result  of  investigation.  You  know  how 
the  best  minds  in  the  Church  ridiculed  the  discoveries 
of  geology,  of  biology,  ending,  of  course,  by  reluct- 
antly accepting  the  teachings  of  the  men  whom  they 
reviled." 

"  You  said  all  that  in  your  paper,  Mr.  Holland,  and 
yet  I  tell  you  that  I  abhor  your  paper — that  I  shud- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  223 

dered  when  I  read  what  you  wrote  about  the  Bible. 
The  words  that  are  in  the  Bible  have  given  to  millions 
of  poor  souls  a  consolation  that  science  could  never 
bring  to  them." 

"  And  those  consoling  words  are  what  I  would  read 
to  the  people  every  day  of  the  week,  not  the  words 
which  may  have  a  certain  historical  signification,  but 
which  breathe  a  very  different  spirit  from  the  spirit  of 
Christianity.  Phyllis,  it  is  to  be  the  aim  of  my  life  to 
help  on  the  great  work  of  making  the  Church  once 
more  the  Church  of  the  people — of  making  it  in  reality 
the  exponent  of  Christianity,  not  of  that  incongruous 
mixture  of  Christianity  and  Judaism.  That  is  my  aim, 
and  I  want  you  to  be  my  helper  in  this  work." 

"  And  I  tell  you  that  I  shall  oppose  you  by  all  the 
means  in  my  power,  paltry  though  my  power  may  be." 

Her  eyes  were  flashing  and  she  made  a  little  auto- 
matic motion  with  her  hands,  as  if  sweeping  something 
away  from  before  her.  He  had  become  pale  and  there 
was  a  light  in  his  eyes.  He  felt  angry  at  this  girl  who 
had  shown  herself  ready  to  argue  with  him, — in  her 
girlish  fashion,  of  course, — and  who,  after  listening  to 
his  incontrovertible  arguments,  fell  back  resolutely 
upon  a  platitude,  and  considered  that  she  had  got  the 
better  of  him. 

She  had  got  the  better  of  him,  too ;  that  was  the 
worst  of  it ;  his  object  in  going  to  her,  in  arguing  with 
her,  was  to  induce  her  to  promise  to  marry  him,  and 
he  had  failed. 

It  was  on  this  account  he  was  angry.  He  might 
have  had  a  certain  consciousness  of  succeeding  as  a 
theologian,  but  he  had  undoubtedly  failed  as  a  lover. 


224  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

He  was  angry.  He  was  as  little  accustomed  as  other 
clergymen  to  be  withstood  by  a  girl. 

"  I  am  disappointed  in  you,"  said  he.  "  I  fancied 

that  when  I — when  I "  It  was  in  his  mind  to  say 

that  he  had  selected  her  out  of  a  large  number  of  can- 
didates to  be  his  helpmeet,  but  he  pulled  himself  up  in 
time,  and  the  pause  that  he  made  seemed  purely  emo- 
tional. "When  I  loved  you  and  got  your  promise  to 
love  me  in  return,  you  would  share  with  me  all  the 
glory,  the  persecution,  the  work  incidental  to  this 

crusade  on  behalf  of  the  truth,  but  now Ah  !  you 

can  never  have  loved  me." 

"  Perhaps  you  are  right,  indeed,"  said  she  meekly. 
She  was  ready  to  cede  him  this  point  if  he  set  any 
store  by  it. 

"  Take  care,"  said  he,  with  some  measure  of  stern- 
ness. "  Take  care,  if  you  fancy  you  love  another  man, 
that  he  may  be  worthy  of  you." 

"  I  do  not  love  another  man,  Mr.  Holland,"  said  she 
gently;  scarcely  regretfully. 

"Do  you  not?"  said  he,  with  equal  gentleness. 
"  Then  I  will  hope." 

"  You  will  do  very  wrong." 

"  You  cannot  say  that  without  loving  someone  else. 
I  would  not  like  to  hear  of  your  loving  such  a  man  as 
Herbert  Courtland." 

She  started  at  that  piece  of  impertinence,  and  then, 
without  the  slightest  further  warning,  she  felt  her  body 
blaze  from  head  to  foot.  She  was  speechless  with 
indignation. 

"  Perhaps  I  should  have  said  a  word  of  warning  to 
you  before."  He  had  now  assumed  the  calm  dignity 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  22$ 

of  a  clergyman  who  knows  what  is  due  to  himself. 
"  I  am  not  one  to  place  credence  in  vulgar  gossip ;  I 
thought  that  your  father,  perhaps,  might  have  given 
you  a  hint.  Mrs.  Linton  is  undoubtedly  a  very  silly 
woman.  God  forbid  that  I  should  ever  hear  rumor 
play  with  your  name  as  I  have  heard  it  deal  with  hers." 

His  assumption  of  the  clergyman's  solemn  dignity 
did  not  make  his  remark  less  impertinent,  considering 
that  Ella  Linton  was  her  dearest  friend.  And  yet 
people  were  in  the  habit  of  giving  George  Holland 
praise  for,  his  tact.  Such  persons  had  never  seen  him 
angry,  wounded,  and  anxious  to  wound. 

There  was  a  pause  after  he  had  spoken  his  tactless 
words.  It  was  broken  by  a  thrice-repeated  cry  from 
Phyllis. 

"Lies!  Lies!  Lies!"  she  cried,  facing  him,  the 
light  of  scorn  in  her  eyes.  "  I  tell  you  that  you  have 
listened  to  lies ;  you,  a  clergyman,  have  listened  to 
lying  gossip,  and  have  repeated  that  lying  gossip  to 
me.  You  have  listened  like  a  wicked  man,  and  you 
should  be  ashamed  of  your  behavior,  of  your  words, 
your  wicked  words.  If  Ella  Linton  were  wicked,  you 
would  be  responsible  for  it  in  the  sight  of  God.  You, 
a  clergyman,  whose  duty  it  is  to  help  the  weak  ones, 
to  give  counsel  to  those  who  stand  on  the  brink  of 
danger;  you  speak  your  own  condemnation  if  you 
speak  Ella  Linton's.  You  have  spent  your  time  not  in 
that  practical  work  of  the  Church — that  work  which  is 
done  silently  by  those  of  her  priests  who  are  desirous 
of  doing  their  duty ;  you  have  spent  your  time,  not  in 
this  work,  but  in  theorizing,  in  inventing  vain  sophis- 
tries to  put  in  a  book,  and  so  cause  people  to  talk 


226  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

about  you  ;  whether  they  talk  well  or  ill  of  you,  you 
care  not  so  long  as  they  talk;  you  have  been  doing 
this  to  gratify  your  own  vanity,  instead  of  doing  your 
duty  as  a  clergyman  on  behalf  of  the  souls  which  have 
been  intrusted  to  your  keeping.  Go  away — go  away! 
I  am  ashamed  of  you ;  I  am  ashamed  of  myself  that  I 
was  ever  foolish  enough  to  allow  my  name  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  yours  even  for  a  single  day.  I  shall  never, 
never  again  enter  the  church  where  you  preach.  Go 
away !  Go  away !  " 

He  stood  before  her  with  his  hands  by  his  sides  as 
a  man  suddenly  paralyzed  might  stand.  He  had  never 
recovered  from  the  shock  produced  by  her  crying  of 
the  word  "  lies !  lies !  lies  !  "  He  was  dazed.  He  was 
barely  conscious  of  the  injustice  which  she  was  doing 
him,  for  he  felt  that  he  was  not  actuated  by  vanity, 
but  sincerity  in  all  that  he  had  hitherto  preached  and 
written  regarding  the  Church.  Still  he  had  not  the 
power  to  interrupt  her  in  her  accusation  ;  he  had  not 
the  power  to  tell  her  that  she  was  falsely  accusing  him. 

When  her  impassioned  denunciation  of  him  had 
come  to  an  end,  and  she  stood  with  flaming  face,  one 
outstretched  hand  pointing  to  the  door,  he  recovered 
himself — partially ;  and  curiously  enough,  his  first 
thought  was  that  he  had  never  seen  a  more  beautiful 
girl  in  a  more  graceful  attitude.  She  had  insulted  him 
grossly ;  she  had  behaved  as  none  of  the  daughters  of 
Philistia  would  behave  in  regard  to  him — him,  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  of  England  ;  but  he  forgot  her 
insults,  her  injustice,  and  his  only  thought  was  that 
she  was  surely  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  the 
world. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA,  227 

"  I  am  amazed  !  "  he  found  words  to  say  at  last.  "  I 
am  amazed  !  I  felt  certain  that  you  at  least  would  do 
me  justice.  I  thought " 

"  I  will  not  listen  to  you,"  she  cried.  "  Every  word 
you  utter  increases  my  self-contempt  at  having  heard 
you  say  so  much  as  you  have  said.  Go  away,  please. 
No,  I  will  go — I  will  go." 

And  she  did  go. 

He  found  himself  standing  in  the  middle  of  an 
empty  room. 

Never  before  had  he  been  so  treated  by  man  or 
woman  ;  and  the  worst  of  the  matter  was  that  he  had 
an  uneasy  feeling  that  he  had  deserved  the  scorn  which 
she  had  heaped  upon  him.  He  knew  perfectly  well 
that  he  had  no  right  to  speak  to  her  as  he  had  spoken 
regarding  her  friend  Ella  Linton.  Rumor — what  right 
had  he  to  suggest  to  her,  as  he  had  certainly  done, 
that  the  evil  rumors  regarding  her  friend  were  believed 
by  him  at  least  ? 

Yes,  he  felt  that  she  had  treated  him  as  he  deserved  ; 
and  when  he  tried  to  get  up  a  case  for  himself,  so  to 
speak,  by  dwelling  upon  the  injustice  which  she  had 
done  him  in  saying  that  he  had  been  actuated  by 
vanity,  whereas  he  knew  that  he  had  been  sincere,  he 
completely  failed. 

But  his  greatest  humiliation  was  due  to  a  conscious- 
ness of  his  own  want  of  tact.  Any  man  may  forget 
himself  so  far  as  to  lose  his  temper  upon  occasions ; 
but  no  man  need  hope  to  get  on  in  the  world  who  so 
far  forgets  himself  as  to  allow  other  people  to  perceive 
that  he  has  lost  his  temper. 

What  was  he  to  do  ? 


228  PHYLLIS  OF  PHTLTSTIA. 

What  was  left  for  him  to  do  but  to  leave  the  house 
with  as  little  delay  as  possible  ? 

He  went  down  the  stairs,  and  a  footman  opened  the 
hall  door  for  him.  He  felt  a  good  deal  better  in  the 
open  air.  Even  the  large  drawing  room  which  he  had 
left  was  beginning  to  feel  stuffy.  (He  was  a  singularly 
sensitive  man.) 

On  reaching  the  rectory  he  found  two  letters  waiting 
for  him.  One  from  the  bishop  requesting  an  early 
interview  with  him.  The  other  was  almost  identical, 
but  it  was  signed  "  Stephen  Linton." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

"DID  HE  SAY  SOMETHING  MORE  ABOUT  RUTH  ?" 

HERBERT  COURTLAND  had  found  his  way  to  her 
drawing  room  on  the  afternoon  of  his  return  to 
London  ;  and  it  was  upon  this  circumstance  rather 
than  upon  her  own  unusual  behavior  in  the  presence 
of  George  Holland  that  Phyllis  was  dwelling  so  soon 
as  she  had  recovered  from  her  tearful  outburst  on  her 
bed.  (She  had,  of  course,  run  into  her  bedroom  and 
thrown  herself  upon  the  bed  the  moment  that  she  had 
left  the  presence  of  the  man  whom  she  had  once 
promised  to  marry.)  She  had  wept  in  the  sheer  excite- 
ment of  the  scene  in  which  she  had  played  the  part  of 
leading  lady  ;  it  had  been  a  very  exciting  scene,  and  it 
had  overwhelmed  her ;  she  had  not  accustomed  her- 
self to  the  use  of  such  vehement  language  as  she  had 
found  necessary  to  employ  in  order  to  adequately  deal 
with  Mr.  Holland,  and  that  was  how  it  came  about 
that  she  was  overwhelmed. 

But  so  soon  as  she  had  partially  recovered  from  her 
excitement,  and  had  dried  her  eyes,  she  began  to  think 
of  the  visit  which  had  been  paid  to  her,  not  by  George 
Holland,  but  by  Herbert  Courtland.  She  dwelt,  more- 
over, less  upon  his  amusing  account  of  the  cruise  of 
the  Water  Nymph  than  upon  the  words  which  he  had 
said  to  her  in  regard  to  his  last  visit.  She  had  ex- 
pressed her  surprise  at  seeing  him.  Had  he  not  gone 


230  PHYLLIS  OF  PHI  LIST! A. 

on  a  yachting  cruise  to  Norway  ?  Surely  five  days  was 
under  rather  than  over  the  space  of  time  necessary  to 
thoroughly  enjoy  the  fine  scenery  of  the  fjords. 

He  had  then  laughed  and  said  that  he  had  received 
a  letter  at  Leith  making  his  immediate  return  abso- 
lutely necessary. 

"  How  disappointed  you  must  have  felt !  "  she  sug- 
gested, with  something  like  a  smile  upon  her  face. 

His  smile  was  broader  as  he  said  : 

"  Well,  I'm  not  so  sure  that  my  disappointment  was 
such  as  would  tend  to  make  me  take  a  gloomy  view  of 
life  for  an  indefinite  time.  Lord  Earlscourt  is  a  very 
good  sort  of  fellow  ;  but — 

"  Yes ;  I  quite  agree  with  you,"  said  she,  still  smil- 
ing. "  Knowing  what  follows  that '  but '  in  everyone's 
mind,  we  all  thought  it  rather  strange  on  your  part 
to  start  on  that  cruise.  And  so  suddenly  you  seemed 
to  make  up  your  mind,  too.  You  never  hinted  to 
me  that  afternoon  that  you  were  anxious  to  see 
Norway  under  the  personal  conductorship  of  Lord 
Earlscourt." 

"  It  would  have  been  impossible  for  me  to  give  you 
such  a  hint,"  said  he.  "  I  had  no  idea  myself  that  I 
wanted  greatly  to  go  to  Norway,  until  I  met  Earls- 
court." 

"  So  we  gathered  from  what  papa  told  us  when  he 
came  in  about  midnight,  bringing  Mr.  Linton  with 
him,"  said  Phyllis.  "  Ella  had  come  across  to  me 
before  nine,  to  ask  me  to  go  with  her  to  '  Romeo  and 
Juliet '  at  Covent  Garden,  forgetting  that  I  was  dining 
with  Lady  Earlscourt." 

"  But  you  had  not  returned  from  the  dinner  party  at 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  231 

nine,"  he  suggested.  She  had  certainly  succeeded  in 
arousing  his  interest,  even  in  such  ordinary  details  as 
those  she  was  describing. 

"  Of  course  not ;  but  Ella  waited  for  me  ;  I  suppose 
she  did  not  want  to  return  to  her  lonely  house.  She 
seemed  so  glad  when  I  came  in  that  she  made  up  her 
mind  to  stay  with  me  all  night." 

"  Oh  !     But  she  didn't  stay  with  you  ?  " 

"  Of  course  not,  when  her  husband  appeared.  It 
was  so  funny — so  startling." 

"So  funny — so  startling!  Yes,  it  must  have  been — 
funny." 

"  Ella  was  wearing  such  a  lovely  frock — covered  with 
diamonds.  I  wish  that  you  had  seen  her." 

"  Ah  ! " 

"  I  never  saw  anything  so  lovely.  I  told  her  that  it 
was  a  bridal  toilet." 

"A  bridal  toilet?" 

"  We  thought  it  such  a  pity  that  it  should  be  wasted. 
She  didn't  go  to  the  opera,  of  course." 

"  And  it  was  wasted — wasted  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no !  When  her  husband  came  in  with  papa, 
about  midnight,  we  laughed  and  said  that  her  dressing 
herself  in  that  way  was  an  inspiration  ;  that  something 
told  her  that  he  was  returning." 

"  Probably  a  telegram  from  Paris  had  told  her  ;  that 
was  the  source  of  her  inspiration." 

"  Oh,  no  !  what  was  so  funny  about  the  matter  was 
that  Mr.  Linton's  servant  bungled  sending  the  tele- 
gram, so  that  Ella  knew  nothing  of  his  coming." 

"  Great  Heavens !  " 

"  You  have  not  seen  Ella  since  your  return  ?  " 


232  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  No  ;  I  have  been  with  her  husband  on  business  all 
day,  however." 

"And  of  course  he  would  not  have  occasion  to  refer 
to  so  casual  an  incident  as  his  wife's  wearing  a  new 
toilet." 

"  Of  course  not.  The  word  inspiration  has  no  place 
in  a  commercial  vocabulary,  Miss  Ayrton." 

"  But  it  is  a  good  word  elsewhere,  Mr.  Courtland." 

"  Yes,  it  has  its  meaning.  You  think  that  it  may  be 
safely  applied  to  the  wearing  of  an  effective  toilet. 
I  wonder  if  you  would  think  of  applying  it  to  the 
words  you  said  to  me  on  the  last  evening  I  was 
here?" 

It  was  in  a  very  low  tone,  and  after  a  long  pause, 
that  she  said : 

"  I  hope  if  what  I  told  you  Mrs.  Haddon  said  was 
an  inspiration,  it  was  a  good  one.  I  felt  that  I  must 
tell  you,  Mr.  Courtland,  though  I  fear  that  I  gave  you 
some  pain — great  pain.  I  know  what  it  is  to  be 
reminded  of  an  irreparable  loss." 

"  Pain — pain?"  said  he.  Then  he  raised  his  eyes  to 
hers.  "  I  wonder  if  you  will  ever  know  what  effect 
your  words  had  upon  me,  Miss  Ayrton?"  he  added. 
"  I  don't  suppose  that  you  will  ever  know ;  but  I  tell 
you  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  ever  to  cease 
to  think  of  you  as  my  good  angel." 

She  flushed  slightly,  very  slightly,  before  saying : 

"  How  odd  that  Ella  should  call  me  her  good  angel, 
too,  on  that  same  night !  " 

"  And  she  spoke  the  truth,  if  ever  truth  was  spoken," 
he  cried. 

Her  face  was  very  serious  as  she  said : 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  233 

"  Of  course  I  don't  understand  anything  of  this,  Mr. 
Courtland." 

"  No,"  he  said  ;  "  it  would  be  impossible  for  you  to 
understand  anything  of  it.  It  would  be  impossible  for 
you  to  understand  how  I  feel  toward  you — how  I  have 
felt  toward  you  since  you  spoke  those  words  in  this 
room  ;  those  words  that  came  to  me  as  the  light  from 
heaven  came  to  Saul  of  Tarsus  ;  words  of  salvation. 
Believe  me,  I  shall  never  forget  them." 

"  I  am  so  glad,"  said  she.  "  I  am  glad,  though,  as  I 
say,  I  understand  nothing." 

Then  there  had  been  a  long  interval  of  silence  before 
she  had  asked  him  something  further  regarding  the 
yachting  party. 

And  now  she  was  lying  on  her  bed  trying  to  recall 
every  word  that  he  had  spoken,  and  with  a  dread  over 
her  that  what  he  had  said  would  bear  out  that  terrible 
suspicion  which  she  had  prayed  to  God  to  forgive  her 
for  entertaining  on  that  night  when  Ella  had  gone 
home  with  her  husband. 

No  rumor  had  reached  her  ears  regarding  the  close- 
ness of  the  intimacy  existing  between  Mr.  Courtland 
and  Mrs.  Linton ;  and  thus  it  was  that  when  that  sus- 
picion had  come  upon  her,  after  Ella  had  left  her,  she 
felt  that  she  was  guilty  of  something  akin  to  a  crime — 
a  horrible  breach  of  friendship,  only  to  be  expiated 
by  tears  and  prayers. 

That  terrible  thought  had  been  borne  upon  her  as  a 
suggestion  to  account  for  much  that  she  could  not 
understand  in  the  words  and  the  behavior  of  Ella  dur- 
ing that  remarkable  evening;  and,  in  spite  of  her 
remorse  and  her  prayers,  she  could  not  quite  rid  her- 


234  PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1ST1A. 

self  of  it.  It  left  its  impression  upon  her  mind,  upon 
her  heart.  Hitherto  she  had  only  heard  about  the 
way  an  unlawful  passion  sweeps  over  two  people,  caus- 
ing them  to  fling  to  the  winds  all  considerations  of 
home,  of  husband,  of  religion,  of  honor;  and  she  felt  it 
to  be  very  terrible  to  be  brought  face  to  face  with  such 
a  power ;  it  seemed  to  her  as  terrible  as  to  be  brought 
face  to  face  with  that  personal  Satan  in  whom  she 
believed. 

It  only  required  such  a  hint  as  that  which  had  come 
from  George  Holland  to  set  her  smoldering  sus- 
picion— suspicion  of  a  suspicion — in  a  flame.  It  had 
flamed  up  before  him  in  those  words  which  she  had 
spoken  to  him.  If  Ella  were  guilty,  he,  George  Hol- 
land, was  to  be  held  responsible  for  her  guilt. 

But  Ella  was  not  guilty ;  Herbert  Courtland  was  not 
guilty. 

"  No,  no,  no  !  "  she  cried,  in  the  solitude  of  her  cham- 
ber. "  She  did  not  talk  as  a  guilty  woman  would  talk  ; 
and  he — he  went  straight  out  of  the  room  where  I  had 
told  him  what  Mrs.  Haddon  said  about  his  mother,  his 
sister — straight  aboard  the  yacht ;  and  she 

All  at  once  the  truth  flashed  upon  her ;  the  truth — 
she  felt  that  it  was  the  truth  ;  and  both  of  them  were 
guiltless.  It  was  for  Herbert  Courtland  that  Ella  had 
put  on  that  lovely  dress ;  but  she  was  guiltless,  he  was 
guiltless.  (Curiously  enough,  she  felt  quite  as  happy 
in  the  thought  that  .he  was  guiltless.)  Yes,  Ella  had 
come  to  her  wearing  that  dress  instead  of  waiting  for 

him,  and  he Ah,  she  now  knew  what  he  had 

meant  when  he  had  called  her  his  good  angel.  She 
had  saved  him. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  235 

She  flung  herself  on  her  knees  in  a  passion  of  thanks- 
giving to  God  for  having  made  her  the  means  of  saving 
a  soul  from  hell — yes,  for  the  time  being. 

And  then  she  began  to  think  what  she  should  do  in 
order  that  that  soul  should  be  saved  forever. 

It  was  time  for  her  to  dress  for  dinner  before  she 
had  finished  working  out  that  great  question,  possibly 
the  greatest  question  that  ever  engrossed  the  attention 
of  a  young  woman  :  how  to  save  the  soul  of  a  man, 
not  temporarily,  but  eternally. 

And  all  the  time  that  she  was  in  her  room  alone  she 
had  not  a  single  thought  regarding  the  scene  through 
which  she  had  passed  with  the  Rev.  George  Holland. 
She  had  utterly  forgotten  him  and  his  wickedness — his 
vain  sophistries.  She  had  forgotten  all  that  he  had 
said  to  her — his  monstrous  calumny  leveled  against  her 
dearest  friend  ;  she  even  forgot  her  unjust  treatment  of 
George  Holland  and  her  rudeness — her  unparalleled 
rudeness  toward  him.  She  was  thinking  over  some- 
thing very  much  more  important.  What  was  a  ques- 
tion of  mere  etiquette  compared  to  the  question  of 
saving  a  man's  soul  alive  ? 

But  when  she  dined  opposite  to  her  father  it  was  to 
the  visit  of  George  Holland  she  referred  rather  than 
to  the  visit  of  Herbert  Courtland. 

"  What  had  George  Holland  got  to  say  that  was 
calculated  to  interest  you  ?  "  her  father  inquired.  The 
peaches  were  on  the  table  and  the  servant  had,  of 
course,  left  the  room. 

"  He  had  nothing  to  say  of  interest  to  me,"  she 
replied. 

"  Nothing,    except,    of    course,    that    his     respect- 


236  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

ful  aspiration  to  marry  you "  suggested  Mr. 

Ayrton. 

"  You  need  not  put  the  '  except '  before  that,  my 
papa,"  said  she. 

"And  yet  I  have  for  some  years  been  under  the 
impression  that  even  when  the  man  whom  she  recoils 
from  marrying  talks  to  a  young  woman  about  his 
aspirations  in  the  direction  of  marriage,  she  is  more 
interested  than  she  would  be  when  the  man  whom  she 
wishes  to  marry  talks  on  some  other  topic." 

"At  any  rate,  George  Holland  didn't  interest  me  so 
long  as  he  talked  of  his  aspirations.  Then  he  talked 
of — well,  of  something  else,  and  I'm  afraid  that  I  was 
rude  to  him.  I  don't  think  that  he  will  come  here 
again.  I  know  that  I  shall  never  go  to  St.  Chad's 
again." 

"  Heavens  above  !  This  is  a  pretty  story  to  tell  a 
father.  How  were  you  rude  to  him  ?  I  should  like 
to  have  a  story  of  your  rudeness,  merely  to  hold  up 
against  you  for  a  future  emergency." 

"  I  pointed  to  the  door  in  the  attitude  of  the  heroine 
of  one  of  the  old  plays,  and  when  he  didn't  leave  at 
once,  I  left  the  room." 

"You  mean  to  say  that  you  left  him  standing  in  the 
middle  of  the  room  while  you  went  away  ?  " 

"  I  told  you  that  I  was  rude." 

"  Rude,  yes ;  but  it's  one  thing  to  omit  to  leave 
cards  upon  a  hostess,  and  quite  another  to  stare  her  in 
the  face  when  she  bows  to  you  in  the  street.  It's  one 
thing  to  omit  sending  a  man  a  piece  of  your  brides- 
cake,  and  quite  another  to  knock  off  his  hat  in  the 
street.  Rude,  oh,  my  dear  Phyllis !  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  237 

"  If  you  knew  what  he  said  about — about  someone 
whom  I  love — if  you  knew  how  angry  I  was,  you  would 
not  say  that  I  acted  so  atrociously,  after  all." 

"  Oh  !    Did  he  say  something  more  about  Ruth  ?  " 

"  He  said  too  much — far  too  much ;  I  cannot  tell 
you.  If  any  other  man  said  so  much  I  would  treat 
him  in  the  same  way.  You  must  not  ask  me  anything 
further,  please." 

"  Rude  and  unrepentant,  shocking  and  not  ashamed. 
This  is  terrible.  But  perhaps  it's  better  that  you 
should  be  rude  when  you're  young  and  beautiful ; 
later  on,  when  you're  no  longer  young,  it  will  not  be 
permitted  in  you.  I'll  question  you  no  further.  Only 
how  about  Sunday?" 

"  I  have  promised  Ella  to  go  with  her  party  to  The 
Mooring  for  a  week." 

"  That  will  get  over  the  matter  of  the  church,  but 
only  for  one  Sunday.  How  about  the  next  Sundays — 
until  the  prorogation  ?  Now,  don't  say  the  obvious 
'sufficient  unto  the  Sunday  is  the  sermon  thereof.'  ' 

"  I  certainly  will  not.  I  have  done  forever  with  St. 
Chad's,  unless  the  bishop  interferes  and  we  get  a  new 
rector." 

"  Then  that's  settled.  And  so  we  can  drink  our 
coffee  in  the  drawing  room  with  easy  minds.  Rude ! 
Great  Heavens!" 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

"  THAT'S   WHY    WOMEN    DO    NOT  MAKE   GOOD 
PHILOSOPHERS." 

SHE  had  prayed  to  God  that  he  might  be  kept  away 
from  her ;  but  immediately  afterward,  as  has  already 
been  stated,  when  she  began  to  think  over  the  situation 
of  the  hour,  she  came  to  the  conclusion  that  she  had 
been  a  little  too  precipitate  in  her  petition.  She  felt 
that  she  would  like  to  ask  him  how  it  had  come  about 
that  he  had  played  that  contemptible  part.  Such  a 
contemptible  part !  Was  it  on  record,  she  wondered, 
that  any  man  had  ever  played  that  contemptible  part  ? 
To  run  away !  And  she  had  designed  and  worn  that 
wonderful  toilet ;  such  a  toilet  as  Helen  might  have 
worn  (she  thought) ;  such  a  toilet  as  Cleopatra  might 
have  worn  (she  fancied) ;  such  a  toilet  as — as  Sarah 
Bernhardt  (she  was  certain)  would  wear  when  imper- 
sonating a  woman  who  had  lost  her  soul  for  the  love 
of  a  man.  Oh,  had  ever  woman  been  so  humiliated  ! 
She  thought  of  the  way  Sarah  Bernhardt  would  act 
the  part  of  one  of  those  women  if  her  lover  had  run 
away  from  her  outstretched  arms, — and  such  a  toilet, — 
only  it  was  not  on  record  that  the  lover  of  any  one  of 
them  had  ever  run  away.  The  lovers  had  been  only 
too  faithful ;  they  had  remained  to  be  hacked  to  pieces 
with  a  mediaeval  knife  sparkling  with  jewels,  or  to 
swallow  some  curious  poison  out  of  a  Byzantine  goblet. 

238 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1STIA.  239 

She  would  have  a  word  or  two  to  say  to  Herbert 
Courtland  when  he  returned.  She  would  create  the 
part  of  the  woman  whose  lover  has  humiliated  her. 

This  was  her  thought  until  her  husband  told  her 
that  he  had  sent  that  letter  to  Herbert  Courtland,  and 
he  would  most  likely  dine  with  them  on  the  evening  of 
his  return. 

Then  it  was  it  occurred  to  her  that  Herbert  Court- 
land  might  by  some  curious  mischance — mischances 
occurred  in  many  of  Sarah  Bernhardt's  plays — have 
come  to  hear  that  she  had  paid  that  rather  singular 
visit  to  Phyllis  Ayrton,  just  at  the  hour  that  she  had 
named  in  that  letter  which  she  had  written  to  him. 
What  difference  did  that  make  in  regard  to  his 
unparalleled  flight  ?  He  was  actually  aboard  the 
yacht  Water  Nymph  before  she  had  rung  for  her 
brougham  to  take  her  to  Phyllis'.  He  had  been  the 
first  to  fly. 

Then  she  began  to  think,  as  she  had  thought  once 
before,  of  her  husband's  sudden  return, — the  return  of 
a  husband  at  the  exact  hour  named  in  the  letter  to  a 
lover  was  by  no  means  an  unknown  incident  in  a  play 
of  Sarah  Bernhardt's, — and  before  she  had  continued 
upon  this  course  of  thought  for  many  minutes,  she 
had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  she  would  not  be  too 
hard  on  Herbert  Courtland. 

She  was  not  too  hard  on  him. 

He  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  Linton  at  the  city 
offices  of  the  great  Taragonda  Creek  Mine.  (The 
mine  had,  as  has  already  been  stated,  been  discovered 
by  Herbert  Courtland  during  his  early  explorations  in 
Australia,  and  he  had  acquired  out  of  his  somewhat 


240  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

slender  resources — he  had  been  poor  in  those  days — 
about  a  square  mile  of  the  wretched  country  where 
it  was  situated,  and  had  then  communicated  his  dis- 
covery to  Stephen  Linton,  who  understood  the  science 
and  arts  necessary  for  utilizing  such  a  discovery,  the 
result  being  that  in  two  years  everyone  connected 
with  the  Taragonda  Mine  was  rich.  The  sweepings 
of  the  crushing  rooms  were  worth  twenty  thousand 
pounds  a  year :  and  Herbert  Courtland  had  spent 
about  ten  thousand  pounds — a  fourth  of  his  year's 
income — in  the  quest  of  the  meteor-bird  to  make  a 
feather  fan  for  Ella  Linton.)  And  when  the  business 
for  which  he  had  been  summoned  to  London  had  been 
set  en  train,  he  had  paid  a  visit  to  his  publishers. 
(They  wondered  could  he  give  them  a  novel  on  New 
Guinea.  If  he  introduced  plenty  of  dialect  and  it  was 
sufficiently  unintelligible  it  might  thrust  the  kail  yard 
out  of  the  market ;  but  the  novel  must  be  in  dialect, 
they  assured  him.)  After  promising  to  give  the 
matter  his  attention,  he  paid  his  visit  to  Phyllis,  and 
then  went  to  his  rooms  to  dress  ;  for  when  Stephen 
Linton  had  said  : 

"  Of  course  you'll  dine  with  us  to-night :  I  told  Ella 
you  would  come," 

He  had  said,  "  Thanks ;  I  shall  be  very  pleased." 

"  Come  early  ;  eight  sharp,"  Mr.  Linton  had  added. 

And  thus  it  was  that  at  five  minutes  to  eight  o'clock 
Herbert  found  himself  face  to  face  alone  with  the 
woman  whom  he  had  so  grossly  humiliated. 

Perhaps  she  was  hard  on  him  after  all :  she  addressed 
him  as  Mr.  Courtland.  She  felt  that  she,  at  any  rate, 
had  returned  to  the  straight  path  of  duty  when  she 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  241 

had  done  that.  (It  was  Herbert  Courtland  who  had 
talked  to  Phyllis  of  the  modern  philosopher — a  politi- 
cal philosopher  or  a  philosophical  politician — who, 
writing  against  compromise,  became  the  leading  expo- 
nent of  that  science,  and  had  hoped  to  solve  the  ques- 
tion of  a  Deity  by  using  a  small  g  in  spelling  God. 
On  the  same  principle  Ella  had  called  Herbert  "  Mr. 
Courtland.") 

He  felt  uneasy.  Was  he  ashamed  of  himself,  she 
wondered  ? 

"  Stephen  will  be  down  in  a  moment,  Mr.  Court- 
land,"  she  said. 

He  was  glad  to  hear  it. 

"  How  warm  it  has  been  all  day !  "  she  added.  "  I 
thought  of  you  toiling  away  over  figures  in  the  city, 
when  you  might  have  been  breathing  the  lovely  air  of 
the  sea.  It  was  too  bad  of  Stephen  to  bring  you  back." 

"  I  assure  you  I  was  glad  to  get  his  letter  at  Leith," 
said  he.  "  I  was  thinking  for  the  two  days  previous 
how  I  could  best  concoct  a  telegram  to  myself  at 
Leith  in  order  that  I  might  have  some  excuse  for  run- 
ning away." 

"  That  is  assuming  that  running  away  needs  some 
excuse,"  said  she. 

There  was  a  considerable  pause  before  he  said,  in  a 
low  tone : 

"  Ella,  Ella,  I  know  everything — that  night.  We 
were  saved." 

At  this  moment  Mr.  Linton  entered  the  room.  He 
was,  after  all,  not  late,  he  said :  it  wanted  a  minute 
still  of  being  eight  o'clock.  He  had  just  been  at  the 
telephone  to  receive  a  reply  regarding  a  box  at  Covent 


242  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Garden.  In  the  earlier  part  of  the  day  none  had  been 
vacant,  he  had  been  told ;  but  the  people  at  the  box 
office  promised  to  telephone  to  him  if  any  became 
vacant  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon.  He  had  just 
come  from  the  telephone,  and  had  secured  a  good 
enough  box  on  the  first  tier.  He  hoped  that  Ella 
would  not  mind  "  Carmen  "  ;  there  was  to  be  a  new 
Carmen. 

Ella  assured  him  that  she  could  not  fail  to  be  inter- 
ested in  any  Carmen,  new  or  old.  It  was  so  good  of 
him  to  take  all  that  trouble  for  her,  knowing  how 
devoted  she  was  to  opera.  She  hoped  that  Herbert — 
she  called  him  Herbert  in  the  presence  of  her  hus- 
band— was  in  a  Carmen  mood. 

"  I'm  always  in  a  mood  to  study  anything  that's 
unreservedly  savage,"  said  he. 

"  There's  not  much  reservation  about  our  little 
friend  Carmen"  said  Mr.  Linton.  "  She  tells  you  her 
philosophy  in  her  first  moment  before  you." 

He  hummed  the  habafiera. 

"  There  you  are :  Mister oso  e  Vamore — that's  the 
philosophy  of  your  pretty  savage,  Herbert." 

"  Yes,"  said  Herbert ;  "  it's  that  philosophy  which 
consists  in  an  absence  of  philosophy — not  the  worst 
kind,  either,  it  seems  to  me.  It's  the  philosophy  of 
impulse." 

"  I  thought  that  the  aim  of  all  philosophy  was  to 
check  every  impulse,"  said  Ella. 

"  So  it  is  ;  that's  why  women  do  not  make  good 
philosophers,"  said  her  husband. 

"  Or,  for  that  matter,  good  mothers  of  philosophers," 
said  Herbert. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  243 

"  That's  rather  a  hard  saying,  isn't  it  ? "  said  the 
other  man. 

"  No,"  said  his  wife ;  "  it's  as  transparent  as  air." 

"  London  air  in  November  ?  "  suggested  her  hus- 
band. 

"  He  means  that  there's  no  such  thing." 

"As  air  in  London  in  November?  I'm  with  him 
there." 

"  He  means  that  there's  no  such  thing  as  a  good 
philosopher." 

"  Then  I  hope  he  has  an  appetite  for  dinner.  The 
man  without  philosophy  usually  has." 

The  butler  had  just  announced  dinner. 

There  was  not  much  talk  among  them  of  philosophy 
so  long  as  the  footmen  were  floating  round  them  like 
mighty  tropical  birds.  They  talked  of  the  House  of 
Commons  instead.  A  new  measure  was  to  be  intro- 
duced the  next  night :  something  that  threatened  beer 
and  satisfied  no  party  ;  not  even  the  teetotalers — only 
the  wives  of  the  teetotalers.  Then  they  had  a  few 
words  regarding  George  Holland's  article  in  the  Zeit 
Geist.  Mr.  Linton  seemed  to  some  extent  interested 
in  the  contentions  of  the  rector  of  St.  Chad's  ;  and 
Herbert  agreed  with  him  when  he  expressed  the  opin- 
ion that  the  two  greatest  problems  that  the  Church 
had  to  face  were  :  How  to  get  people  with  intelligence 
to  go  to  church,  and  what  to  do  with  them  when  they 
were  there. 

In  an  hour  they  were  in  their  box  at  Covent  Garden 
listening  to  the  sensuous  music  of  "  Carmen,"  and 
comparing  the  sauciness  of  the  charming  little  devil 
who  sang  the  habafiera,  with  the  piquancy  of  the  last 


244  -         PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Carmen  but  three,  and  with  the  refinement  of  the  one 
who  had  made  so  great  a  success  at  Munich.  They 
agreed  that  the  savagery  of  the  newest  was  very  fasci- 
nating,— Stephen  Linton  called  it  womanly, — but  they 
thought  they  should  like  to  hear  her  in  the  third  act 
before  pronouncing  a  definite  opinion  regarding  her 
capacity. 

Then  the  husband  left  the  box  to  talk  to  some  people 
who  were  seated  opposite. 

"  You  know  everything  ?  "  she  said. 

"  Everything,"  said  Herbert.  "  Can  you  ever  for- 
give me  ?  " 

"  For  running  away  ?  Oh,  Bertie,  you  cannot  have 
heard  all." 

"  For  forcing  you  to  write  me  that  letter — can  you 
ever  forgive  me  ?  " 

" Oh,  the  letter?  Oh,  Bertie,  we  were  both  wrong — 
terribly  wrong.  But  we  were  saved." 

"  Yes,  we  were  saved.     Thank  God — thank  God  ! " 

"  That  was  my  first  cry,  Bertie,  when  I  felt  that  I 
was  safe — that  we  both  had  been  saved :  Thank  God  ! 
It  seemed  as  if  a  miracle  had  been  done  to  save  us." 

"  So  it  was — a  miracle." 

"  I  spent  the  night  praying  that  you  might  be  kept 
away  from  me,  Bertie — away  for  ever  and  ever.  I  felt 
that  I  was  miserably  weak  ;  I  felt  that  I  could  not 
trust  myself  ;  but  now  that  you  are  here  beside  me 
again  I  feel  strong.  Oh,  Bertie,  we  know  ourselves 
better  now  than  we  did  a  week  ago — is  it  only  a  week 
ago  ?  It  seems  months — years — a  lifetime  !  " 

"  Yes,  I  think  that  we  know  each  other  better  now, 
Ella.  That  night  aboard  the  yacht  all  the  history  of 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  245 

the  past  six  months  seemed  to  come  before  me.  I  saw 
what  a  wretch  I  had  been,  and  I  was  overwhelmed 
with  self-contempt." 

"  It  was  my  fault,  dear  Bertie.  I  was  foolish — vain 
— a  mere  woman !  Do  not  say  that  I  did  not  take 
pride  in  what  I  called,  in  my  secret  moments,  my 
conquest.  Oh,  Bertie !  I  had  sunk  into  the  depths. 
And  then  that  letter !  But  we  were  saved,  and  I  feel 
that  we  have  been  saved  for  evermore.  I  feel  strong 
by  your  side  now.  And  you,  I  know,  feel  strong, 
Bertie?" 

"  I  have  awakened  from  my  dream,  Ella.  You 
called  her  your  good  angel  too.  Surely  it  was  my 
good  angel  that  sent  me  to  her  that  evening !  " 

Ella  was  staring  at  him.  He  said  that  he  knew 
everything.  It  appeared  that  she  was  the  one  who 
was  not  in  the  fortunate  position  of  knowing  all. 

She  stared. 

"  Phyllis  Aryton — you  were  with  her?" 

"  For  half  an  hour.  She  was  unconscious  of  the 
effect  her  words  had  upon  me, — the  words  of  another 
woman, — leading  me  back  to  the  side  of  those  who 
have  gone  forever.  I  listened  to  her,  and  then  it  was 
that  I  awoke.  She  did  not  know.  How  could  she 
tell  that  the  light  of  heaven  was  breaking  in  upon  a 
soul  that  was  on  the  brink  of  hell  ?  She  saved  me." 

"  She  told  me  nothing  of  that."  There  was  a  curi- 
ous eagerness  in  her  voice.  "  She  told  me  nothing. 
Oh,  how  could  she  tell  me  anything?  She  knew 
nothing  of  it  herself.  She  looked  on  you  as  an  or- 
dinary visitor.  She  told  you  that  I  fled  to  her.  Oh, 
Bertie,  Bertie  !  those  hours  that  I  passed — the  terrible 


246  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

conflict.  But  when  I  felt  her  arms  about  me  I  knew 
that  I  was  safe.  Then  Stephen  entered.  I  thought 
that  we  were  lost — you  and  I ;  that  he  had  returned 
to  find  you  waiting.  I  don't  know  if  he  had  a  sus- 
picion. At  any  rate  we  were  saved,  and  by  her — dear 
Phyllis.  Oh,  will  she  ever  know,  I  wonder,  what  it  is 
to  be  a  woman  ?  Bertie,  she  is  my  dearest  friend — I 
told  you  so.  I  thought  of  her  and  you — long  ago. 
Oh,  why  should  you  not  think  of  her  now  that  you 
have  awakened  and  are  capable  of  thought — the 
thought  of  a  sane  man  ?  " 

He  sat  with  an  elbow  resting  on  the  front  of  the 
opera  box,  his  head  upon  his  hand.  He  was  not  look- 
ing at  her,  but  beyond  her.  He  seemed  to  be  lost  in 
thought. 

Was  he  considering  that  curious  doctrine  which  she 
had  propounded,  that  if  a  man  really  loves  a  woman 
he  will  marry  her  dearest  friend?  He  made  no  reply 
to  her.  The  point  required  a  good  deal  of  thought, 
apparently. 

"  You  hear  me,  Bertie — dear  Bertie  ?  "  she  said. 

He  only  nodded. 

She  remembered  that,  upon  a  previous  occasion, 
when  she  had  made  the  same  suggestion  to  him,  he 
had  put  it  aside  as  unworthy  of  comment — unworthy 
of  a  moment's  thought.  How  could  it  be  possible  for 
him,  loving  her  as  he  did,  to  admit  the  possibility  of 
another's  attractiveness  in  his  eyes  ?  The  idea  had 
seemed  ludicrous  to  him. 

But  now  he  made  no  such  protest.  He  seemed  to 
consider  her  suggestion  and  to  think  it — well,  worthy 
of  consideration  ;  and  this  should  have  been  very 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  247 

pleasing  to  her ;  for  did  it  not  mean  that  she  had 
gained  her  point  ? 

"  You  will  think  over  it,  Bertie  ?  "  she  said.  Her 
voice  was  now  scarcely  so  full  of  eagerness  as  it  had 
been  before.  Was  that  because  she  did  not  want  to 
weary  him  by  her  persistence  ?  Even  the  suggestion 
to  a  man  that  he  should  love  a  certain  woman  should, 
she  knew,  be  made  with  tact. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  over  it,"  he  said  at  last ;  but 
only  after  a  long  pause. 

"  Oh,  I  am  so  glad  !  " 

And  she  actually  believed  that  she  was  glad. 

"  I  thought  about  her  aboard  the  yacht." 

"  Did  you  ?  I  fancied  that  you  would  think  of 

But  I  am  so  glad  ! " 

"  I  thought  of  her  as  my  good  angel.  Those  words 
which  she  said  to  me " 

"  She  has  been  your  good  angel,  and  I " 

"  Ella,  Ella,  she  has  been  our  good  angel — you  said 
so." 

"And  don't  you  think  that  I  meant  it?  Some 
women — she  is  one  of  them — are  born  to  lead  men  up- 
ward ;  others Ah,  there,  it  is  on  the  stage:  Car- 
men, the  enchantress,  Michaela,  the  good  angel.  But 
I  am  so  glad  !  She  is  coming  to  stay  with  us  up  the 
river ;  you  must  be  with  us  too.  You  cannot  possibly 
know  her  yet.  But  a  week  by  her  side — you  will,  I 
know,  come  to  perceive  what  she  is — the  sweetest — 
the  most  perfect !  " 

Still  he  made  no  reply.  He  was  looking  earnestly  at 
the  conductor,  who  was  pulling  his  musicians  together 
for  the  second  act. 


248  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"You  will  come  to  us,  Bertie?"  she  whispered. 

He  shook  his  head. 

"  I  dare  not  promise,"  said  he.  "  I  feel  just  now 
like  a  man  who  is  still  dazed,  on  being  suddenly 
awakened.  I  have  not  yet  begun  to  see  things  as 
they  are.  I  am  not  sure  of  myself.  I  will  let  you 
know  later  on." 

Then  the  conductor  tapped  his  desk,  and  those  of 
the  audience  who  had  left  their  places  returned. 
Stephen  Linton  slipped  into  his  chair ;  his  wife  took 
up  her  lorgnette  as  the  first  jingle  of  the  tambourines 
was  heard,  and  the  curtain  rose  upon  the  picturesque 
tawdriness  of  the  company  assembled  at  the  Seiior 
Lois  Pastia's  place  of  entertainment. 

Ella  gave  all  her  attention  to  the  opera — to  that 
tragedy  of  the  weakness  of  the  flesh,  albeit  the  spirit 
may  be  willing  to  listen  to  good.  Alas !  that  the  flesh 
should  be  so  full  of  color  and  charm  and  seduction, 
while  the  spirit  is  pale,  colorless,  and  set  to  music  in  a 
minor  key ! 

Carmen  flashed  about  the  stage  under  the  brilliant 
lights,  looking  like  a  lovely  purple  butterfly — a  lovely 
purple  oriole  endowed  with  the  double  glory  of  plum- 
age and  song,  and  men  whose  hearts  beat  in  unison 
with  the  heart-beats  of  that  sensuous. music  through 
which  she  expressed  herself,  loved  her ;  watched  her 
with  ravished  eyes  ;  heard  her  with  ravished  ears — 
yes,  as  men  love  such  women  ;  until  the  senses  re- 
cover from  the  intoxication  of  her  eyes  and  her  limbs 
and  her  voice.  And  in  the  third  act  the  sweet 
Michaela  came  on  with  her  song  of  the  delight  of 
purity,  and  peace,  and  home.  She  sang  it  charmingly, 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  249 

• 

everyone  allowed,  and  hoped  that  Carmen  would 
sing  as  well  in  the  last  act  as  she  had  sung  in  the 
others. 

Ella  Linton  kept  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  stage  to 
the  very  end  of  all. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

"  THE  CHURCH  IS  NOT  NEUROTIC." 

WHEN  George  Holland  received  his  two  letters  and 
read  them  he  laid  them  side  by  side  and  asked  himself 
what  each  of  them  meant. 

Well,  he  could  make  a  pretty  good  guess  as  to  what 
the  bishop's  meant.  The  bishop  meant  business.  But 
what  did  Mr.  Linton  want  with  him  ?  Mr.  Linton  was 
a  business  man,  perhaps  he  meant  business  too.  Busi- 
ness men  occasionally  mean  business ;  they  more  fre- 
quently only  pretend  to  do  so,  in  order  to  put  off  their 
guard  the  men  they  are  trying  to  get  the  better  of. 

He  would  have  an  interview  with  the  bishop  ;  so 
much  was  certain;  and  that  interview  was  bound  to 
be  a  difficult  one — for  the  bishop.  It  was  with  some 
degree  of  pride  that  he  anticipated  the  conflict.  He 
would  withdraw  nothing  that  he  had  written.  Let  all 
the  forces  of  the  earth  be  leagued  against  him,  he 
would  abate  not  a  jot — not  a  jot.  (By  the  forces  of 
the  earth  he  meant  the  Bench  of  Bishops,  which  was 
scarcely  doing  justice  to  the  bishops — or  to  the  forces 
of  the  earth.) 

Yes,  they  might  deprive  him  of  his  living,  but  that 
would  make  no  difference  to  him.  Not  a  jot — not  a 
jot !  They  might  persecute  him  to  the  death.  He 
would  be  faithful  unto  death  to  the  truths  he  had 

250 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  251 

endeavored  to  spread  abroad.  He  felt  that  they  were 
truths. 

But  that  other  letter,  which  also  asked  for  an  inter- 
view at  his  earliest  convenience  the  next  day,  was 
rather  more  puzzling  to  George  Holland.  He  had 
never  had  any  but  the  most  casual  acquaintance  with 
Mr.  Linton — such  an  acquaintance  as  one  has  with 
one's  host  at  a  house  where  one  has  occasionally  dined. 
He  had  dined  at  Mr.  Linton's  house  more  than  once  ; 
but  then  he  had  been  seated  in  such  proximity  to  Mrs. 
Linton  as  necessitated  his  remoteness  from  Mr.  Lin- 
ton.  Therefore  he  had  never  had  a  chance  of  becom- 
ing intimate  with  that  gentleman.  Why,  then,  should 
that  gentleman  desire  an  early  interview  with  him  ? 

It  was  certainly  curious  that  within  a  few  minutes  of 
his  having  referred  to  Mrs.  Linton,  in  the  presence  of 
Phyllis  Ayrton,  in  a  way  that  had  had  a  very  unhappy 
result  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  he  should  receive  a 
letter  from  Mrs.  Linton's  husband  asking  for  an  early 
interview. 

He  seated  himself  in  his  study  chair  and  began  to 
think  what  the  writer  of  that  letter  might  have  to  say 
to  him. 

He  had  not  to  ask  himself  if  it  was  possible  that 
Mr.  Linton  might  have  a  word  or  two  to  say  to  him, 
respecting  the  word  or  two  which  he,  George  Holland, 
had  just  said  about  Mrs.  Linton  ;  for  George  knew 
very  well  that,  though  during  the  previous  week  or 
two  he  had  heard  some  persons  speaking  lightly  of 
Mrs.  Linton,  coupling  her  name  with  the  name  of 
Herbert  Courtland,  yet  he  had  never  had  occasion  to 
couple  their  names  together  except  during  the  previous 


25  2  PHYLLIS  OF  PHI  LIST/ A. 

half  hour,  so  that  it  could  not  be  Mr.  Linton's  inten- 
tion to  take  him  to  task,  so  to  speak,  for  his  indis- 
cretion— his  slander,  Phyllis  might  be  disposed  to 
term  it. 

Upon  that  point  he  was  perfectly  satisfied.  But  he 
was  not  certain  that  Mr.  Linton  did  not  want  to  con- 
sult him  on  some  matter  having  more  or  less  direct 
bearing  upon  the  coupling  together  of  the  names  of 
Mrs.  Linton  and  Mr.  Courtland.  People  even  in  town 
are  fond  of  consulting  clergymen  upon  curious  per- 
sonal matters — matters  upon  which  a  lawyer  or  a  doc- 
tor should  rather  be  consulted.  He  himself  had  never 
encouraged  such  confidences.  What  did  he  keep 
curates  for?  His  curates  had  saved  him  many  a 
long  hour  of  talk  with  inconsequent  men  and  illog- 
ical women  who  had  come  to  him  with  their  stories. 
What  were  to  him  the  stories  of  men  whose  wives 
were  giving  them  trouble?  What  were  to  him  the 
stories  of  wives  who  had  difficulties  with  their  house- 
.maids  or  who  could  not  keep  their  boys  from  reading 
pirate  literature?  His  curates  managed  the  domes- 
tic department  of  his  church  for  him.  They  could 
give  any  earnest  inquirer  at  a  moment's  notice  the 
addresses  of  several  civil-spoken  women  (elderly)  who 
went  out  as  mother's  helps  by  the  day.  They  were 
very  useful  young  men  and  professed  to  like  this 
work.  He  would  not  do  them  the  injustice  to  believe 
that  they  spoke  the  truth  in  that  particular  way. 

He  could  not  fancy  for  what  purpose  Mr.  Linton 
wished  to  see  him.  But  he  made  up  his  mind  that,  if 
Mr.  Linton  was  anxious  that  his  wife  should  be 
remonstrated  with,  he,  George  Holland,  would  decline 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  253 

to  accept  the  duty  of  remonstrating  with  her.  He 
was  wise  enough  to  know  that  he  did  not  know  very 
much  about  womankind  ;  but  he  knew  too  much  to 
suppose  that  there  is  any  more  thankless  employment 
than  remonstrating  with  an  extremely  pretty  woman 
on  any  subject,  but  particularly  on  the  subject  of  a 
very  distinguished  man  to  whom  she  considers  herself 
bound  by  ties  of  the  truest  friendship. 

But  then  there  came  upon  him  with  the  force  of  a 
great  shock  the  recollection  of  what  Phyllis  had  said 
to  him  on  this  very  point : 

"  If  Ella  Linton  were  wicked,  you  should  be  held 
responsible  for  it  in  the  sight  of  God" 

Those  were  her  words,  and  those  words  cut  asunder 
the  last  strand  of  whatever  tie  there  had  been  between 
him  and  Phyllis. 

His  duty  as  a  clergyman  intrusted  with  the  care  of 
the  souls  of  the  people,  he  had  neglected  that,  she 
declared  with  startling  vehemence.  He  had  been 
actuated  by  vanity  in  publishing  his  book — his  article 
in  the  Zeit  Geist  Review — she  had  said  so ;  but  there 
she  had  been  wrong.  He  felt  that  she  had  done  him 
a  great  injustice  in  that  particular  statement,  and  he 
tried  to  make  his  sense  of  this  injustice  take  the  place 
of  the  uneasy  feeling  of  which  he  was  conscious,  when 
he  thought  over  her  other  words.  He  knew  that  he 
was  not  actuated  by  vanity  in  adopting  the  bold  course 
that  was  represented  by  his  writings.  He  honestly 
believed  that  his  efforts  were  calculated  to  work  a 
great  reform  in  the  Church.  If  not  in  the  Church, 
outside  it. 

But  his  duty  in  regard  to  the  souls  of  the  people 


254  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Oh !  it  was  the  merest  sophistry  to  assume  that  such 
responsibility  on  the  part  of  a  clergyman  is  susceptible 
of  being  particularized.  It  should,  he  felt,  be  touched 
upon,  if  at  all,  in  a  very  general  way.  Did  that  young 
woman  expect  that  he  should  preach  a  sermon  to  suit 
the  special  case  of  every  individual  soul  intrusted 
(according  to  her  absurd  theory)  to  his  keeping  ? 

The  idea  was  preposterous ;  it  could  not  be  seri- 
ously considered  for  a  moment.  She  had  allowed  her- 
self to  be  carried  away  by  her  affection  for  her  friend 
to  make  accusations  against  him,  in  which  even  she 
herself  would  not  persist  in  her  quieter  moments. 

He  found  it  quite  easy  to  prove  that  Phyllis  had 
been  in  the  wrong  and  that  he  was  in  the  right ;  but 
this  fact  did  not  prevent  an  intermittent  recurrence 
during  the  evening  of  that  feeling  of  uneasiness,  as 
those  words  of  the  girl,  "  If  Ella  Linton  were  wicked, 
you  would  be  lie  Id  responsible  for  it  in  tJie  sight  of  God" 
buzzed  in  his  ears. 

"  Would  she  have  me  become  an  ordinary  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  of  England  ?"  he  cried  indignantly, 
as  he  switched  on  the  light  in  his  bedroom  shortly 
before  midnight — for  the  rushlight  in  the  cell  of  the 
modern  man  of  God  is  supplied  at  a  strength  of  so 
many  volts.  "  Would  she  have  me  become  the  model 
country  parson,  preaching  to  the  squire  and  other 
yokels  on  Sunday,  and  chatting  about  their  souls  to 
wheezy  Granfer  this,  and  Gammer  that  ? "  He  had 
read  the  works  of  Mr.  Thomas  Hardy.  "  Does  she 
suppose  that  I  was  made  for  such  a  life  as  that? 
Poor  Phyllis  !  When  will  she  awake  from  this  dream 
of  hers  ?  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  255 

Did  he  fancy  that  he  loved  her  still  ?  or  was  the 
pain  that  he  felt,  when  he  reflected  that  he  had  lost 
her,  the  result  of  his  wounded  vanity — the  result  of 
his  feeling  that  people  would  say  he  had  not  had  suf- 
ficient skill,  with  all  his  cleverness,  to  retain  the  love 
of  the  girl  who  had  promised  to  be  his  wife  ? 

Before  going  to  bed  he  had  written  replies  to  the 
two  letters.  The  bishop  had  suggested  an  early  hour 
for  their  interview — he  had  named  eleven  o'clock  as 
convenient  to  himself,  if  it  would  also  suit  Mr.  Hol- 
land. Two  o'clock  was  the  hour  suggested  by  Mr. 
Linton,  if  that  hour  would  not  interfere  with  the  other 
engagements  of  Mr.  Holland;  so  he  had  written  agree- 
ing to  the  suggestions  of  both  his  correspondents. 

At  eleven  o'clock  exactly  he  drove  through  the 
gates  of  the  Palace  of  the  bishop,  and  with  no  faltering 
hand  pulled  the  bell.  (So,  he  reflected  for  an  instant, 
— only  an  instant, — Luther  had  gone,  somewhere  or 
other,  he  forgot  at  the  moment  what  was  the  exact 
locality  ;  but  the  occasion  had  been  a  momentous  one 
in  the  history  of  the  Church.) 

He  was  cordially  greeted  by  the  bishop,  who  said : 

"  How  do  you  do,  Holland  ?  I  took  it  for  granted 
that  you  were  an  early  riser — that's  why  I  ventured  to 
name  eleven." 

"  No  hour  could  suit  me  better  to-day,"  said  George, 
accepting  the  seat — he  perceived  at  once  that  it  was 
a  genuine  Chippendale  chair  upholstered  in  old  red 
morocco — to  which  his  lordship  made  a  motion  with 
his  hand.  He  did  not,  however,  seat  himself  until  the 
bishop  had  occupied,  which  he  did  very  comfortably, 
the  corresponding  chair  at  the  side  of  the  study  desk. 


256  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  I  was  anxious  to  have  a  chat  with  you  about  that 
b9ok,  and  that  article  of  yours  in  ti\z.ZeitGeist,  Holland," 
said  the  bishop.  "  I  wish  you  had  written  neither." 

"  Litera  scripta  manet"  said  George,  with  a  smile. 

One  may  quote  Latin  in  conversation  with  a  bishop 
without  being  thought  a  prig.  In  a  letter  to  the 
Times  and  in  conversation  with  a  bishop  are  the  only 
two  occasions  in  these  unclassical  days  when  one  may 
safely  quote  Latin  or  Greek. 

"  That's  the  worst  of  it,"  said  the  prelate,  with  a 
shake  of  his  head  that  was  Early  Norman.  "  Yes, 
you  see  a  book  isn't  like  a  sermon.  People  don't 
remember  a  man's  sermons  against  him  nowadays ; 
they  do  his  books,  however." 

"I  am  quite  ready  to  accept  the  conditions  of 
modern  life,  my  lord,"  said  George. 

"  I  was  anxious  to  give  you  my  opinion  as  early  as 
possible,"  resumed  the  bishop,  "  and  that  is,  that  what 
you  have  just  published — the  book  and  the  Zeit  Geist 
article — reflect — yes,  in  no  inconsiderable  measure — 
what  I  have  long  thought." 

"  I  am  flattered,  indeed,  my  lord." 

"You  need  not  be,  Holland.  I  believe  that  there 
are  a  large  number  of  thinking  men  in  the  Church 
who  are  trying  to  solve  the  problem  with  which  you 
have  so  daringly  grappled — the  problem  of  how  to 
induce  intellectual  men  and  women  to  attend  the  serv- 
ices of  the  Church.  I'm  afraid  that  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  truth  in  what  you  say  about  the  Church  herself 
being  responsible  for  the  existence  of  this  problem." 

"  There  is  no  setting  aside  that  fact,  my  lord." 

"Alas!    that    short-sighted    policy    has    been    the 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1STIA.  257 

Church's  greatest  enemy  from  the  earliest  period. 
You  remember  what  St.  Augustine  says?  Ah,  never 
mind  just  now.  About  your  book — that's  the  matter 
before  us  just  now.  I  must  say  that  I  don't  consider 
the  present  time  the  most  suitable  for  the  issue  of 
that  book,  or  that  article  in  the  Zeit  Geist.  You 
meant  them  to  be  startling.  Well,  they  are  startling. 
There  are  some  complaints — nervous  complaints — 
that  require  to  be  startled  out  of  the  system  ;  that's  a 
phrase  of  Sir  Richard's.  He  made  use  of  it  in  regard 
to  my  neuralgia.  '  We  must  surprise  it  out  of  the 
system,'  said  he,  '  with  a  large  dose  of  quinine.'  The 
phrase  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  very  striking  one.  But 
the  Church  is  not  neurotic.  You  cannot  apply  the 
surprise  method  to  her  system  with  any  chance  of 
success.  That  is  wherein  the  publication  of  your 
article  seems  to  me  to  be — shall  we  call  it  premature  ? 
It  is  calculated  to  startle ;  but  you  cannot  startle 
people  into  going  to  church,  my  dear  Holland,  and 
that  is,  of  course,  the  only  object  you  hope  to  achieve. 
Your  book  and  your  article  were  written  with  the  sole 
object  of  bringing  intelligent  people  to  church.  But 
it  occurs  to  me,  and  I  think  it  will  occur  to  you  also, 
that  if  the  article  be  taken  seriously, — and  it  is  meant 
to  be  taken  seriously, — it  may  be  the  means  of  keep- 
ing people  away  from  the  Church  rather  than  bring- 
ing them  to  church.  It  may  even  be  the  means 
of  alienating  from  that  fond,  if  somewhat  foolish  old 
mother  of  ours,  many  of  her  children  who  are  already 
attached  to  her.  I  trust  I  don't  speak  harshly." 

"  Your    lordship    speaks    most     kindly ;     but     the 
truth " 


258  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  Should  be  spoken  as  gently  as  possible  when  it  is 
calculated  to  wound,  Holland  ;  that  is  why  I  trust  I 
am  speaking  gently  now.  Ah,  Holland  !  there  are  the 
little  children  to  be  considered  as  well  as  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees.  There  are  the  weaker  brethren.  You 
have  heard  of  the  necessity  for  considering  the  weaker 
brethren." 

"  I  seem  to  have  heard  of  nothing  else  since  I  en- 
tered the  Church  ;  all  the  brethren  are  the  weaker 
brethren." 

"  They  are  ;  I  am  one  of  the  weaker  brethren  my- 
self. It  is  all  a  question  of  comparison.  I  don't  say 
that  your  article  is  likely  to  have  the  effect  of  causing 
me  to  join  the  band  of  non-church-goers.  I  don't  at 
this  moment  believe  that  it  will  drive  me  to  golf 
instead  of  Gospel;  but  I  honestly  do  believe  that  it  is 
calculated  to  do  that  to  hundreds  of  persons  who  just 
now  require  but  the  smallest  grain  of  argument  to 
turn  the  balance  of  their  minds  in  favor  of  golf.  Your 
aim  was  not  in  that  direction,  I'm  sure,  Holland." 

"  My  aim  was  to  speak  the  truth,  my  lord." 

"  In  order  to  achieve  a  noble  object — the  gathering 
of  the  stragglers  into  the  fold." 

"  That  was  my  motive,  my  lord." 

"  You  announce  boldly  that  this  old  mother  of  ours 
is  in  a  moribund  condition,  in  order  that  you  may 
gather  in  as  many  of  her  scattered  children  as  possible 
to  stand  at  her  bedside?  Ah,  my  dear  Holland!  the 
cry  that  goes  forth  to  tell  the  children  that  she  is 
moribund  brings  together  the  wolves  and  the  vultures 
and  all  unclean,  hungry  things  to  try  and  get  a  mouth- 
ful off  those  prostrate  limbs  of  hers — a  mouthful  while 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILIST1A.  259 

her  flesh  is  still  warm.  I  tell  you  this — I  who  have 
from  time  to  time  during  the  last  fifty  years  heard  the 
howl  of  the  hyena,  seen  the  talons  of  the  vulture  at 
the  door  of  her  chamber.  They  fancied  that  the  end 
could  not  be  far  off,  that  no  more  strength  was  left  in 
that  aged  body  that  lay  prone  for  the  moment.  But  I 
have  heard  the  howling  wane  into  the  distance  and  get 
lost  in  the  outer  darkness  when  the  old  Church  roused 
herself  and  went  forth  to  face  the  snarling  teeth — the 
eager  talons.  There  is  life  in  this  mighty  old  mother 
of  ours  still.  New  life  comes  to  her,  not  as  it  did  to 
the  fabled  hero  of  old,  by  contact  with  the  earth,  but 
by  communing  with  heaven.  The  bark  of  the  wolf, 
the  snarl  of  the  hyena,  may  be  heard  in  the  debate 
which  the  Government  have  encouraged  in  the  House 
of  Commons  on  the  Church.  Philistia  rejoices.  Let 
the  movers  in  this  obscene  tumult  look  to  themselves. 
Have  they  the  confidence  of  the  people  even  as  the 
Church  has  that  confidence?  Let  them  put  it  to  the 
test.  I  tell  you,  George  Holland,  the  desert  and  the 
ditch,  whose  vomit  those  men  are  who  now  move 
against  us  in  Parliament,  shall  receive  them  once  more 
before  many  months  have  passed.  The  Church  on 
whom  they  hoped  to  prey  shall  witness  their  dispersal, 
never  again  to  return.  I  know  the  signs.  I  know 
what  the  present  silence  throughout  the  country 
means.  The  champion  of  God  and  the  Church  has 
drawn  his  breath  for  the  conflict.  His  teeth  are  set — 
his  weapon  is  in  his  hand — you  will  see  the  result 
within  a  year.  We  shall  have  a  government  in  power, 
a  government  whose  power  will  not  be  dependent  on 
the  faddists  and  the  self-seekers — the  ignorant,  the 


260  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

blatant  bellowers  of  pitiful  platitudes,  the  platform 
loafers  who  call  themselves  labor-leaders,  but  whom  the 
real  laborers  repudiate.  Mark  my  words,  their  doom 
is  sealed ;  back  to  the  desert  and  the  ditch  !  My  dear 
Holland,  pardon  this  digression.  I  feel  that  I  need 
say  nothing  more  to  you  than  I  have  already  said. 
The  surprise  system  of  therapeutics  is  not  suited  to 
the  existing  ailments  of  the  Church.  Caution  is  what 
is  needed  if  you  would  not  defeat  your  own  worthy 
object,  which,  I  know,  is  to  give  fresh  vitality  to  the 
Church." 

"  That  is  certainly  my  object,  my  lord  ;  only  let  me 
say  that— 

"  My  dear  Holland,  I  will  not  let  you  say  anything. 
I  asked  you  to  come  here  this  morning  in  order  that 
you  might  hear  me.  That  is  all  that  is  necessary  for 
the  present.  Perhaps,  upon  some  future  occasion,  I 
may  have  the  privilege  of  hearing  you  in  a  discourse 
of  some  greater  length  than  that  which  I  have  just 
inflicted  upon  you.  I  have  given  you  my  candid 
opinion  of  your  writings,  and  you  know  that  is  the 
opinion  of  a  man  who  has  but  one  object  in  life — you 
know  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  an  old  man  who  has 
seen  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  many  movements 
in  society  and  in  the  Church,  and  who  has  learned 
that  the  Church,  for  all  her  decrepitude,  is  yet  the  most 
stable  thing  that  the  world  has  yet  seen.  I  have  to 
thank  you  for  coming  to  me,  Holland." 

"  Your  lordship  has  spoken  to  me  with  the  greatest 
kindness,"  said  George  Holland,  as  his  spiritual  father 
offered  him  his  hand. 

In  a  few  minutes  he  was  in  his  hansom  once  more. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

"  I  KNOW  THAT  IT  DOESN'T  MATTER  MUCH  TO 
GOD  WHAT  A  MAN  THINKS  ABOUT  HIMSELF  OR 
HIS  SOUL." 

FOR  the  next  hour  and  a  half  the  Rev.  George  Hol- 
land had  an  opportunity  of  considering  his  position 
as  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  as  one 
whose  chief  desire  was  to  advance  the  interests  of  the 
Church.  His  bishop  had  assumed  that  he  had  been 
single-minded  in  his  aims — that  his  sole  object  in 
writing  that  book  and  that  paper  had  been  to  cure 
the  complaint  from  which  the  old  Church  was  suffer- 
ing. His  lordship  had  done  him  justice  where  Phyllis 
had  done  him  a  gross  injustice.  What  would  Phyllis 
have  said,  he  wondered,  if  she  had  heard  that  con- 
cession, made  not  under  pressure,  but  voluntarily  by 
probably  the  highest  authority  in  the  world,  to  his, 
George  Holland's,  singleness  of  aim? 

But  it  was  so  like  a  girl  to  jump  at  conclusions — to 
assume  that  he  had  been  actuated  by  vanity  in  all  that 
he  had  just  done  ;  that  he  was  desirous  only  of  getting 
people  to  talk  about  him — being  regardless  whether 
they  spoke  well  of  him  or  ill.  He  only  wished  that 
she  could  have  heard  the  bishop.  He  felt  as  a  man 
feels  whose  character  has  just  been  cleared  in  a  court 
of  law  from  an  aspersion  that  has. rested  on  it  for 
some  time.  He  wondered  if  that  truly  noble  man 

261 


262  PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA. 

whom  he  was  privileged  to  call  his  Father  in  God, 
would  have  any  objection  to  give  him  a  testimonial 
to  the  effect  that  in  his  opinion, — the  opinion  of  his 
Father  in  God, — there  was  no  foundation  for  the 
accusation  against  him  and  his  singleness  of  aim. 

Well,  he  thought  that  perhaps  it  "would  be  unwise 
for  him  to  look  for  such  a  testimonial.  It  would  be 
undignified.  It  might  seem  as  if  in  excusing  himself 
he  were  accusing  himself. 

But  the  bishop  knew  that  it  was  not  vanity  which 
had  urged  him  to  write  what  he  had  written.  The 
bishop  understood  men. 

He  was  right ;  the  bishop  understood  men  so  well 
as  to  be  able  to  produce  in  a  few  words  upon  the  man 
who  had  just  visited  the  palace,  the  impression  that 
he  believed  that  that  man  had  been  impelled  by  a 
strong  sense  of  duty  without  a  touch  of  vanity.  He 
understood  man  so  well  as  to  cause  that  same  visitor 
of  his  to  make  a  resolution  never  again  to  publish  any- 
thing in  the  same  strain  as  the  Zeit  Geist  article,  with- 
out first  consulting  with  the  bishop.  George  Holland 
had  pulled  the  bell  at  the  palace  gates  with  the  hand 
of  a  Luther;  but  he  had  left  the  presence  of  the 
bishop  with  the  step  of  a  Francis  of  Assisi.  He  felt 
that  anyone  who  would  voluntarily  give  pain  to  so 
gentle  a  man  as  the  bishop  could  only  be  a  brute. 
He  even  felt  that  the  bishop  had  shown  himself  to  be 
his,  George  Holland's  superior  in  judgment  and  in  the 
methods  which  he  employed.  The  bishop  was  not  an 
overrated  man. 

For  a  full  hour  in  the  silence  and  solitude  of  the 
reading  room  of  his  club  he  reflected  upon  the  excel- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  263 

lence.  of  the  bishop,  and  it  was  with  a  sigh  of  regret 
that  he  rose  to  keep  his  other  appointment.  He 
would  have  liked  to  continue  for  another  hour  or  two 
doing  justice  to  that  good  man  out  of  whose  presence 
he  had  come. 

Mr.  Linton's  office  was  not  quite  in  the  City. 
Twenty  minutes  drive  brought  George  Holland  into 
the  private  room  of  Ella  Linton's  husband. 

"  It  is  very  good  of  you  to  come  to  me,  Mr.  Hol- 
land," said  Stephen.  "  There  seems  to  be  a  general 
idea  that  a  clergyman  should  be  at  the  beck  and  call 
of  everyone  who  has  a  whim  to — what  do  they  call  it 
in  Ireland — to  make  his  soul?  That  has  never  been 
my  opinion ;  I  have  never  given  any  trouble  to  a 
clergyman  since  I  was  at  school." 

"  It  is  the  privilege  of  a  minister  to  be  a  servant," 
said  the  Rev.  George  Holland. 

"  We  Avere  taught  that  at  school — in  connection 
with  the  Latin  verb  ministro"  said  Mr.  Linton. 
"  Well,  Mr.  Holland,  I  am  glad  that  you  take  such 
a  view  of  your  calling,  for  I  am  anxious  that  you 
should  do  me  a  great  service." 

He  paused. 

George  Holland  bent  his  head.  He  wondered  if 
Mr.  Linton  wished  to  intrust  him  with  the  duty  of 
observing  his  wife. 

"  The  fact  is,  Mr.  Holland,"  resumed  Stephen  Linton, 
"  I  have  read  your  book  and  your  paper  in  that  review. 
The  way  you  deal  with  a  difficult  question  has  filled 
me  with  admiration.  You  will,  I  need  scarcely  say, 
be  outside  the  Church  before  long." 

"  I  cannot  allow  you  to  assume  that,  Mr.  Linton," 


264  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

said  George  gravely.  "  I  should  be  sorry  to  leave  the 
Church.  I  cannot  see  that  my  leaving  it  is  the  logical 
sequence  of  anything  that  I  have  yet  written.  My 
aim  is,  as  doubtless  you  have  perceived,  to  bring  about 
such  reasonable  and,  after  all,  not  radical  changes  in 
the  Church  system  as  shall  make  her  in  the  future  a 
more  potent  agency  for  good  than  she  has  ever  yet 
been,  splendid  though  her  services  to  humanity  have 
been." 

"  Still  you  will  find  yourself  outside  the  walls  of 
your  Church,  Mr.  Holland.  And  you  will  probably 
adopt  the  course  which  other  sons  of  the  Church  have 
thought  necessary  to  pursue  when  the  stubborn  old 
thing  refused  to  be  reformed." 

"If  you  suggest  that  I  shall  become  a  Dissenter, 
Mr.  Linton— 

"  I  suggest  nothing  of  the  sort,  though  you  dissent 
already  from  a  good  many  of  the  fundamental  practices 
of  the  Church,  if  I  may  be  permitted  the  expression. 
Now,  I  should  like  to  be  permitted  to  make  a  provision 
for  your  future,  Mr.  Holland." 

"  My  dear  sir,  such  a  proposition  seems  to  me  to  be 
a  most  extraordinary  one.  I  hope  you  will  not  think 
me  rude  in  saying  so  much.  I  have  not  suggested, 
Mr.  Linton,  as  other  clergymen  might,  that  you  mean 
an  affront  to  me,  but  I  don't  think  that  anything  would 
be  gained  by  prolonging — 

"  Permit  me  to  continue,  and  perhaps  you  may  get 
a  glimmer  of  gain.  Mr.  Holland,  I  am  what  people 
usually  term  a  doomed  man.  So  far  as  I  can  gather  I 
have  only  about  six  months  longer  to  live." 

"  Merciful  Heaven!  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  265 

"  Perhaps  it  is  merciful  on  the  part  of  Heaven  to 
destroy  a  man  when  he  has  reached  the  age  of  forty. 
We'll  not  go  into  that  question  just  now.  I  was 
warned  by  a  doctor  two  years  ago  that  I  had  not  long 
to  live.  It  appears  that  my  heart  was  never  really  a 
heart — that  is  to  say,  it  may  have  had  its  affections,  its 
emotions,  its  passions,  but  pneumatically  it  is  a  failure  ; 
it  was  never  a  blood-pump.  Six  months  ago  I  was 
examined  by  the  greatest  authority  in  Europe,  and  he 
pronounced  my  doom.  Three  days  ago  I  went  to  the 
leading  specialist  in  London,  and  he  told  me  I  might 
with  care  live  six  months  longer." 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Linton,  with  what  words  can  I  express 
to  you  my  deep  feeling  for  you  ?  " 

George  Holland  spoke  after  a  prolonged  pause, 
during  which  he  stared  at  the  white-faced  man  before 
him.  A  smile  was  upon  that  white  face.  George  was 
deeply  affected.  He  seemed  to  have  stepped  out 
of  a  world  of  visions — a  world  that  had  a  visionary 
Church,  visionary  preachers,  visionary  doctrines — all 
unsubstantial  as  words,  which  are  but  breath — into  a 
world  of  realities — such  realities  as  life  and  death 
and Ah,  there  were  no  other  realities  in  exist- 
ence but  the  two :  life  and  death. 

And  Mr.  Linton  continued  smiling. 

"  You  may  gather  that  I  wrote  to  you  in  order  that 
you  may  help  me  to  make  my  soul.  What  a  capital 
phrase !  I  didn't  do  that,  Mr.  Holland.  I  have  never 
been  sanguine  about  man  and  his  soul.  I  know  that 
it  doesn't  matter  much  to  God  what  a  man  thinks 
about  himself  or  his  soul.  It  really  doesn't  matter 
much  whether  he  believes  or  not  that  he  has  a  soul : 


266  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

God  is  the  Principle  of  Right — the  Fountain  of  Jus- 
tice, and  I'm  willing  to  trust  myself  to  God." 

"  That  is  true  religion,  Mr.  Linton,"  said  the  clergy- 
man. 

"  But  I  agree  with  those  people  who  think  that  the 
world  cannot  get  on  without  a  Church.  Now,  I  am 
sanguine  enough  to  believe  that  a  Church  founded  on 
your  ideas  of  what  is  orthodox  would  be  the  means  of 
doing  a  great  deal  of  good.  It  would  do  a  great  deal 
of  good  to  my  wife,  to  start  with.  She  does  not  know 
that  she  is  so  soon  to  be  a  widow.  Were  she  to  know, 
the  last  months  of  my  life  would  be  miserable  to  both 
of  us.  I  have  noticed  with  some  pain,  or  should  I  say 
amusement  ?  perhaps  that  word  would  be  the  better — 
I  have  noticed,  I  say,  that  her  life  is  one  of  complete 
aimlessness,  and  that,  therefore,  she  is  tempted  to 
think  too  much  about  herself.  She  is  also  tempted  to 
have  longings  for — well,  for  temptation.  Ah,  she  is  a 
woman  and  temptation  is  in  the  way  of  women.  Qui 
parle  cT amour,  fait  r  amour :  temptation  comes  to  the 
woman  who  thinks  about  being  tempted.  Now,  I  want 
to  give  her  something  to  think  about  that  shall  lead 
her  out  of  the  thoughts  of  temptation  which  I  sup- 
pose come  naturally  to  a  daughter  of  Eve — the  first 
woman  who  thought  about  temptation  and  was  there- 
fore tempted.  My  wife  is  a  perfectly  good  woman, 
and  you  will  be  surprised  to  find  out  when  I  am  dead 
how  fond  of  me  she  was — she  will  be  the  most  sur- 
prised of  all.  But  she  is  a  woman.  If  she  were  not  so 
much  of  a  woman  I  don't  suppose  I  should  ever  have 
cared  so  much  for  her  as  I  do.  I  cared  so  much  for 
her,  Mr.  Holland,  that  I  remained  away  from  her  in 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  267 

Paris  for  three  months  so  that  I  might  school  myself 
to  my  fate,  making  no  sign  that  would  lead  her  to 
suspect  the  truth.  Why  should  she  have  six  months' 
additional  misery  ?  I  have  strayed.  The  Church.  I 
want  to  give  my  wife  an  aim  in  life ;  to  make  her 
feel  that  she  is  doing  something  worthy — to  keep  her 
from  thinking  of  less  worthy  things.  Now,  I  think 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  there  is  nothing  women 
are  really  so  fond  of  as  a  Church  of  some  sort.  To  be 
devout  is  as  much  a  part  of  a  woman's  disposition  as 
to  love — the  passion  of  devoutness  sometimes  takes 
the  place  of  the  passion  of  love  in  her  nature.  Now, 
I  want  to  give  her  this  idea  of  a  Church  to  work  out 
when  I  am  dead.  I  want  you  to  carry  out  as  joint 
trustee  with  her  your  theories  in  regard  to  the  ritual, 
the  art,  the  sermon  ;  and  for  this  purpose  I  should  of 
course  provide  an  ample  endowment — say  three  or 
four  thousand  a  year ;  anything  you  may  suggest :  I 
shall  leave  a  great  deal  of  money  behind  me." 

"  Your  project  startles  me,  Mr.  Linton,"  said  George 
Holland.  "  It  startles  me  as  greatly  as  the  first  revela- 
tion you  made  to  me  did.  They  may  be  mistaken — 
the  doctors  ;  I  have  known  cases  where  the  highest 
authorities  were  ludicrously  in  error.  Let  us  hope 
that." 

"  Well,  we  may  hope ;  I  may  live  long  enough  to 
lay  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Church  myself.  But  I 
am  most  anxious  that  you  should  give  the  whole 
matter  your  earnest  attention." 

"  I  am  quite  dazed.  Do  you  suggest  that  I  should 
leave  the  Church  of  England?" 

"  By  no  means.     That  is  a  question  which  I  leave 


268  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

entirely  to  your  own  decision.  My  own  idea  is  that 
you  would  like  a  free  hand.  You  will  have  to  leave 
the  Church  sooner  or  later.  A  man  with  your  advanced 
ideas  cannot  regulate  your  pace  to  that  of  an  old 
woman.  In  twenty  years  the  Church  will  think  pre- 
cisely as  you  think  to-day.  That  is  the  way  with  the 
Church.  It  opposes  everything  in  the  way  of  an  inno- 
vation. You  stated  the  case  very  fairly  in  your  paper. 
The  Church  opposes  every  discovery  and  every  new 
thing  as  long  as  possible.  It  then  only  accepts 
grudgingly  what  all  civilization  has  accepted  cordially. 
Oh,  yes,  you'll  find  it  impossible  to  remain  in  the 
Church,  Mr.  Holland.  'Crabbed  age  and  youth,'  you 
know." 

"  I  should  part  from  the  Church  with  the  greatest 
reluctance,  Mr.  Linton." 

"  Then  don't  part  from  it,  only  don't  place  yourself 
in  its  power.  Don't  be  beholden  to  it  for  your  income. 
Don't  go  to  the  heads  of  the  Church  for  orders.  Be 
your  own  master  and,  in  plain  words,  run  the  concern 
on  your  own  lines.  The  widow  of  the  founder  will 
have  no  power  to  interfere  with  you  in  the  matter  of 
such  arrangements." 

"  I  shall  have  to  give  the  matter  a  good  deal  of 
thought.  I  should  naturally  have  to  reform  a  good 
deal  of  the  ritual." 

"  Naturally.  The  existing  ritual  is  only  a  compro- 
mise. And  as  for  the  hymns  which  are  sung,  why  is 
it  necessary  for  them  to  be  doggerel  before  they  are 
devotional?  " 

"  The  hymns  are  for  the  most  part  doggerel.  We 
should  have  a  first-rate  choir  and  anthems — not  neces- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  269 

sarily  taken  from  the  Bible.  Why  should  not  Shak- 
spere  be  sung  in  churches — Shakspere's  divine  poetry 
instead  of  the  nonsense-rhymes  that  people  call 
hymns  ?  Shakspere  and  Milton ;  Shelley  I  would  not 
debar ;  Wordsworth's  sonnets.  But  the  scheme  will 
require  a  great  deal  of  thought." 

"  A  great  deal ;  that  is  why  I  leave  it  in  your  hands. 
You  are  a  thinking  man — you  are  not  afraid  of  tra- 
dition." 

"  Tradition — tradition !  the  ruts  made  in  the  road 
by  the  vehicles  that  have  passed  over  it  in  years 
gone  by ! " 

"  The  road  to  the  Church  is  sadly  in  need  of  mac- 
adamizing, Mr.  Holland — or,  better  still,  asphalting. 
Make  a  bicycle  road  of  it,  and  you  are  all  right.  Now, 
come  with  me  to  my  club  and  have  lunch.  We'll  talk 
no  more  just  now  about  this  matter." 

They  went  out  together. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

"  THERE   IS   NO   ONE   I    LIKE   BETTER   THAN  PHYLLIS." 

PHYLLIS  AYRTON  had  spent  a  considerable  time 
pondering  over  that  problem  of  how  best  to  save  a 
man  and  a  woman  from  destruction — social,  perhaps ; 
eternal,  for  certain.  She  felt  that  it  had  been  laid 
upon  her  to  save  them  both,  and  she  remembered  the 
case  of  one  Jonah,  a  prophet,  who,  in  endeavoring  to 
escape  from  the  disagreeable  duty  with  which  he  had 
been  intrusted,  had  had  an  experience  that  was  prac- 
tically unique,  even  among  prophets.  She  would  not 
try  to  evade  her  responsibility  in  this  matter. 

A  few  days  after  Herbert  Courtland  had  witnessed 
by  the  side  of  Ella  the  representation  of  "  Carmen," 
he  had  met  Phyllis  at  an  At  Home.  He  had  seen  her 
in  the  distance  through  a  vista  of  crowded  rooms,  and 
had  crushed  his  way  to  her  side.  He  could  scarcely 
fail  to  see  the  little  light  that  came  to  her  face  as  she 
put  out  her  hand  to  him,  nor  could  her  companion  of 
the  moment — he  was  one  of  the  coming  men  in  science, 
consequently  like  most  coming  men,  he  had  been 
forced  into  a  prominent  place  in  the  drawing  room — 
fail  to  perceive  that  his  farewell  moment  with  that 
pretty  Miss  Ayrton  had  come.  She  practically  turned 
her  back  upon  him  when  Herbert  Courtland  came  up. 

For  some  moments  they  chatted  together,  and  then 
it  occurred  to  him  that  she  might  like  some  iced 

ZJQ 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  271 

coffee.  His  surmise  proved  correct,  and  as  there  was 
at  that  moment  a  stream  of  people  endeavoring  to 
avoid  the  entertainment  of  a  high-class  pianoforte 
player  which  was  threatened  in  a  neighboring  apart- 
ment, Phyllis  and  her  companion  had  no  trouble  in 
slipping  aside  from  the  panic-stricken  people  into  the 
tea  room. 

It  was  a  sultry  day,  and  the  French  windows  of  the 
room  were  open.  It  was  Phyllis  who  discovered  that 
there  was  a  narrow  veranda,  with  iron-work  covered 
with  creepers,  running  halfway  round  the  house  from 
window  to  window  ;  and  when  he  suggested  to  her 
that  they  might  drink  their  coffee  on  this  veranda,  she 
hailed  the  suggestion  as  a  very  happy  one.  How  did 
it  come  that  none  of  the  rest  of  the  people  had 
thought  of  that  ?  she  wondered. 

In  another  instant  they  were  standing  together  at 
the  space  between  the  windows  outside,  the  long- 
leaved  creepers  mingling  with  the  decorations  of  her 
hat,  and  making  a  very  effective  background  for  his 
well-shaped  head. 

For  the  next  half-hour  people  were  intermittently 
coming  to  one  of  the  windows,  putting  their  heads  out 
and  then  turning  away,  the  girls  with  gentle  little 
pursings  of  the  mouth  and  other  forms  that  the  sneer 
feminine  assumes  ;  the  men  with  winks  and  an  oc- 
casional chuckle,  suggestive  of  an  exchange  of  confi- 
dence too  deep  for  words. 

One  woman  had  poked  her  head  out — it  was  gray 
at  the  roots  and  golden  at  the  tips — and  asked  her 
companion  in  a  voice  that  had  a  large  circumference 
where  was  Mrs.  Linton. 


272  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Now,  Herbert  Courtland  had  not  lived  so  long  far 
from  the  busy  haunts  of  men  (white)  as  to  be  utterly 
ignorant  of  the  fact  that  no  young  woman  but  one  who 
is  disposed  to  be  quite  friendly  with  a  man,  would 
adopt  such  a  suggestion  as  he  had  made  to  her,  and 
spend  half  an  hour  drinking  half  a  cup  of  iced  coffee 
by  his  side  in  that  particular  place.  The  particular 
place  might  have  accommodated  six  persons ;  but  he 
knew,  and  he  knew  that  she  knew  also,  that  it  was  one 
of  the  unwritten  laws  of  good  society  that  such  par- 
ticular places  are  overcrowded  if  occupied  by  three 
persons.  It  was  on  this  account  the  old  men  and 
maidens  and  the  young  men  and  matrons — that  is 
how  they  pair  themselves  nowadays — had  avoided 
the  veranda  so  carefully,  refusing  to  contribute  to  its 
congestion  as  a  place  of  resort. 

Herbert  Courtland  could  not  but  feel  that  Phyllis 
intended  to  be  friendly  with  him — even  at  the  risk  of 
being  within  audible  distance  of  the  strong  man  who 
was  fighting  a  duel  a  entrance  with  a  grand  piano  ; 
and  as  he  desired  to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  a  girl 
in  whom  he  was  greatly  interested,  he  was  very  much 
pleased  to  find  her  showing  no  disposition  to  return  to 
the  tea  room,  or  any  other  room,  until  quite  half  an 
hour  had  gone  by  very  pleasantly.  And  then  she  did 
so  with  a  start :  the  start  of  the  girl  who  suddenly  re- 
members a  duty — and  regrets  it. 

That  had  pleased  him  greatly ;  he  felt  it  to  be  rather 
a  triumph  for  him  that  by  his  side  she  had  not  only 
forgotten  her  duty  but  was  glad  she  had  forgotten  it. 

"  Oh,  yes  !  "  she  said,  in  answer  to  his  question,  "  I 
have  two  other  places  to  go  to.  I'm  so  sorry." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  273 

"  Sorry  that  you  remembered  them  ?"  he  had  sug- 
gested. 

She  shook  her  head,  smiling. 

"What  would  happen  if — I  had  continued  forgetting 
them  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  That  is  the  most  interesting  question  I  have  heard 
in  some  time.  Why  not  try  to  continue  forgetting 
them  ?  " 

"I'm  too  great  a  coward,"  she  replied,  putting  out 
her  hand  to  him,  for  now  her  victoria  had  drawn  up 
and  the  footman  was  standing  ready  to  open  the  door. 

"  Good-by,"  said  he. 

"  Oh,  no !  only  au  revoir"  she  murmured. 

"  With  all  my  heart — au  revoir  at  The  Mooring," 
said  he. 

That  au  revoir  had  reference  to  the  circumstance 
that  they  were  to  be  fellow-guests  at  Mrs.  Linton's 
house  at  Hurley-on-Thames,  known  as  The  Mooring. 
Phyllis  had  told  him  that  she  was  about  to  pay  that 
visit,  and  when  he  said  : 

"  Why,  I  am  going  as  well,"  she  had  raised  her  eyes 
to  his  face,  an  unmistakable  look  of  pleasure  on  her 
own,  as  she  cried  : 

"  I  am  so  glad  !     When  do  you  go  ?" 

"  On  Thursday." 

"  I  go  on  Tuesday — two  days  sooner." 

The  tone  in  which  she  spoke  made  him  feel  that  she 
had  said  : 

"  What  on  earth  shall  I  do  during  those  dreary  two 
days  ?  "  or  else  he  had  become  singularly  conceited. 

But  even  if  she  had  actually  said  those  words  they 
would  not  have  made  him  feel  unduly  vain.  He  re- 


274  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

fleeted  upon  the  fact  which  he  had  more  than  once  pre- 
viously noticed — namely,  that  the  girl,  though  wise  as 
became  a  daughter  of  a  Member  of  Parliament  to  be 
(considering  that  she  had  to  prevent,  or  do  her  best  to 
prevent,  her  father  from  making  a  fool  of  himself),  was 
in  many  respects  as  innocent  and  as  natural  as  a  girl 
should  be.  She  had  only  spoken  naturally  when  she 
had  said  that  she  was  glad  he  was  to  be  of  the  river- 
side party — when  she  had  implied  by  her  tone  that  she 
was  sorry  that  two  whole  days  were  bound  to  pass 
before  he  should  arrive. 

What  was  there  in  all  that  she  had  said,  to  make 
such  a  man  as  he  vain — in  all  that  she  had  implied  ? 
If  she  had  been  six  years  old  instead  of  twenty-three, 
she  would  probably  have  told  him  that  she  loved  him. 
The  innocence  of  the  child  would  have  made  her  out- 
spoken ;  but  would  his  vanity  have  been  fostered  by 
the  confession  ?  It  was  the  charming  naturalness  of 
the  girl  that  had  caused  her  to  speak  out  what  it  was 
but  natural  she  should  feel.  She  and  he  had  liked 
each  other  from  the  first,  and  it  was  quite  natural  that 
she  should  be  glad  to  see  him  at  Hurley. 

That  was  what  he  thought  as  he  strolled  to  his 
rooms  preparatory  to  dressing  for  some  function  of 
the  night.  He  flattered  himself  that  he  was  able  to 
look  at  any  situation  straight  in  the  face,  so  to  speak. 
He  flattered  himself  that  he  was  not  a  man  to  be  led 
away  by  vanity.  He  was,  as  a  rule,  on  very  good  terms 
with  himself,  but  he  was  rather  inclined  to  undervalue 
than  overestimate  the  distinction  which  he  enjoyed 
among  his  fellow-men.  And  the  result  of  his  due  con- 
sideration of  his  last  meeting  with  Phyllis  was  to  make 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  275 

him  feel  that  he  had  never  met  a  girl  who  was  quite 
so  nice ;  but  he  also  felt  that,  if  he  were  to  assume 
from  the  gladness  which  she  had  manifested  not 
merely  at  being  with  him  that  day,  but  at  the  pros- 
pect of  meeting  him  up  the  river,  that  he  had  made 
an  impression  upon  her  heart,  he  would  be  assuming 
too  much. 

But  all  the  same,  he  could  not  help  wishing  that 
Ella  had  asked  him  to  go  to  The  Mooring  on  Tuesday 
rather  than  Thursday;  and  he  felt  when  Tuesday  ar- 
rived that  the  hot  and  dusty  town  with  its  ceaseless 
roll  of  gloomy  festivities  contained  nothing  for  him 
that  he  would  not  willingly  part  withal  in  exchange 
for  an  hour  or  two  beside  the  still  waters  of  the 
Thames  in  the  neighborhood  of  Hurley. 

Stephen  Linton  had  bought  The  Mooring  when  his 
wife  had  taken  a  fancy  to  it  the  previous  year,  when 
she  had  had  an  attack  of  that  river  fever  which  sooner 
or  later  takes  hold  upon  Londoners,  making  them  ready 
to  sell  all  their  possessions  and  encamp  on  the  banks 
of  the  Thames.  It  had  been  a  great  delight  to  her 
to  furnish  that  lovely  old  house  according  to  her  taste, 
making  each  room  a  picture  of  consistency  in  decora- 
tion and  furniture,  and  it  had  been  a  great  delight  to 
her  to  watch  the  garden  being  laid  out  after  the  most 
perfect  eighteenth-century  pattern,  with  its  green  ter- 
races and  clipped  hedges.  She  had  gone  so  far  as  to 
live  in  the  house  for  close  upon  a  whole  fortnight  the 
previous  autumn.  Since  that  time  the  caretaker  had 
found  it  a  trifle  too  cold  in  the  winter  and  too  hot  in 
the  summer,  he  had  complained  to  Mrs.  Linton.  But 
she  knew  that  there  is  no  pleasing  caretakers  ;  she  had 


276  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

not  been  put  out  of  favor  with  the  place ;  she  hoped 
to  spend  at  least  a  week  under  its  roof  before  the  end 
of  the  season,  and  perhaps  another  week  before  start- 
ing for  Scotland  in  the  autumn. 

She  suddenly  came  to  the  conclusion  one  day  that 
her  husband  was  not  looking  well — a  conclusion  which 
was  certainly  well  founded.  She  declared  that  a  few 
days  up  the  river  was  precisely  what  would  restore  him 
to  robust  health.  (But  here  it  is  to  be  feared  her 
judgment  was  in  error.)  He  had  been  thinking  too 
much  about  the  new  development  of  the  mine  and  the 
property  surrounding  it  at  Taragonda  Creek.  What 
did  his  receiving  a  couple  of  hundred  thousand  pounds 
matter  if  his  health  were  jeopardized,  she  inquired  of 
him  one  day,  wearing  the  anxious  face  of  the  Good 
Wife. 

He  had  smiled  that  curious  smile  of  his, — it  was 
becoming  more  curious  every  day, — and  had  said : 

"  What,  indeed  !  " 

"  Up  the  river  we  shall  go,  and  I'll  get  Phyllis  to 
come  with  us  to  amuse  you — you  know  that  you  like 
Phyllis,"  his  wife  cried. 

"  There  is  no  one  I  like  better  than  Phyllis,"  he  had 
said. 

And  so  the  matter  had  been  settled. 

But  during  the  day  or  two  that  followed  this  settle- 
ment, Ella  came  upon  several  of  her  friends  who  she 
found  were  looking  a  trifle  fagged  through  the  pressure 
of  the  season,  and  she  promptly  invited  them  to  The 
Mooring,  so  that  she  had  a  party  of  close  upon  a  dozen 
persons  coming  to  her  house — some  for  a  day,  some 
for  as  long  as  three  days,  commencing  with  the  Tues- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  277 

day  when  she  and  Phyllis  went  off  together.  Mr. 
Linton  had  promised  to  join  the  party  toward  the  end 
of  the  week. 

And  that  was  how  it  came  about  that  Herbert 
Courtland  found  himself  daily  admiring  the  cleverness 
of  Phyllis  Ayrton  when  she  had  the  punt  pole  in  her 
hands.  He  also  admired  the  gradual  tinting  of  her  fair 
face,  through  the  becoming  exertion  of  taking  the  punt 
up  the  lovely  backwater  or  on  to  the  placid  reaches 
beyond.  Sometimes  the  punt  contained  three  or  four 
of  the  party  in  addition  to  Herbert,  but  twice  he  was 
alone  with  her,  and  shared  his  admiration  of  her  with 
no  one. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

"  YOU   MAY   TRUST   MR.    COURTLAND." 

MRS.  LlNTON  was  greatly  amused — she  certainly 
was  surprised.  The  surprises  were  natural,  but  the 
amusement  was  not  quite  so  logical.  It  was,  however, 
quite  natural  that  her  guests — two  of  them  excepted — 
should  be  amused  when  they  observed  her  surprise. 

Could  anything  be  funnier,  one  of  these  guests 
asked  another  in  a  whisper,  than  Mrs.  Linton's  chagrin 
on  finding  that  her  own  particular  Sir  Lancelot  had 
discovered  an  Elaine  for  himself  ? 

Of  course  the  guest  who  was  so  questioned  agreed 
that  nothing  could  possibly  be  funnier ;  and  they  both 
laughed  in  unison.  If  people  cannot  derive  innocent 
fun  from  watching  the  disappointment  of  their  hostess, 
in  what  direction  may  the  elements  of  mirth  be  found  ? 

It  was  agreed  that  Mrs.  Linton  had  invited  Herbert 
Courtland  up  the  river  for  her  own  special  entertain- 
ment— that  she  had  expected  him  to  punt  her  up 
the  river  highways  and  the  backwater  by-ways,  while 
Phyllis  Ayrton  and  the  rest  of  her  guests  looked  after 
themselves,  or  looked  after  Mrs.  Linton's  husband  ;  but 
it  appeared  that  Herbert  Courtland  had  not  been  con- 
sulted on  this  subject,  the  result  being  that  Mrs.  Lin- 
ton's arrangements  had  been  thrown  into  confusion. 

The  consensus  of  opinion  among  the  guests  was  to 
the  effect  that  Mrs.  Linton's  arrangements  had  been 

878 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  279 

thrown  very  much  awry  indeed.  But  then  the  guests 
were  amused,  and  as  it  is  getting  mQre  and  more  diffi- 
cult every  year  to  amuse  one's  guests,  especially  those 
forming  a  house-party  at  a  season  when  nothing  lends 
itself  to  laughter,  Mrs.  Linton  would  have  had  every 
reason  to  congratulate  herself  upon  the  success  of  her 
party,  had  she  been  made  aware  of  the  innocent  mirth 
which  prevailed  for  some  days  among  her  guests. 

She  would  possibly  have  been  greatly  diverted  also 
at  the  overshrewdness  of  her  guests,  who  were,  of 
course,  quite  ignorant  of  the  conversation  regarding 
Phyllis  Ayrton  which  had  immediately  preceded  her 
invitation  to  Herbert  to  spend  a  few  days  on  the  river. 

But  though  Ella  had  undoubtedly  given  Herbert  to 
understand  that  she  was  anxious  to  have  him  at  The 
Mooring  while  Phyllis  was  there,  in  order  that  he 
might  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  more  of  her,  and 
to  obtain  his  agreement  with  her  theory  that  the  man 
who  truly  loves  a  woman  should  be  ready  to  marry 
that  woman's  dearest  friend,  still  it  must  be  confessed 
that  she  was  surprised  to  observe  the  course  adopted 
by  both  Phyllis  and  Herbert.  She  had  expected  that 
all  her  tact  and  diplomacy  would  be  required  in  order 
to  bring  the  young  people — with  all  the  arrogance  of 
the  wife  of  twenty-six  years  of  age  she  alluded  to  a 
girl  of  twenty-three  and  a  man  of  thirty-two  as  the 
young  people — together. 

She  had  had  visions  of  sitting  in  the  stern  of  an  out- 
rigger built  for  two,  remonstrating  with  Herbert — he 
would  of  course  be  at  the  oars — for  choosing  to  paddle 
her  up  the  river  while  he  allowed  some  of  the  other 
men  to  carry  off  Phyllis  in,  say,  the  Canadian  canoe. 


280  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

A  picture  had  come  before  her  of  the  aggrieved  expres- 
sion upon  the  face  of  Herbert  when  she  would  insist 
on  his  going  out  by  the  side  of  Phyllis  to  feed  the 
peacocks  on  the  terraces  in  the  twilight ;  and  she  had 
more  than  once  seemed  to  hear  his  sigh  of  resignation 
as  she,  with  a  firmness  which  she  would  take  pains 
to  develop,  pleaded  a  headache  so  that  he  and  Phyllis 
might  play  a  game  of  billiards  together. 

She  soon  found  out  that  her  imagination  had  not 
been  prophetic.  Immediately  after  drinking  tea — it  was 
a  few  minutes  past  six — on  the  evening  of  the  arrival 
of  Herbert,  she  went  out  of  doors  to  find  him  and  give 
him  a  lecture  on  the  need  there  was  for  him  to  refrain 
from  waiting  about  the  garden  far  from  the  other 
guests  until  she,  Ella,  could  go  on  the  river  with  him 
for  a  quiet  drift  before  dinner;  the  other  guests  would 
certainly  think  him  worse  than  rude,  she  was  ready  to 
explain.  The  explanation  was  not  needed  ;  she  learned 
that  Mr.  Courtland  had  just  taken  Miss  Ayrton  out  in 
one  of  the  punts. 

Of  course  she  was  pleased — after  an  hour  by  the 
side  of  her  husband — to  perceive  that  Herbert  had  lost 
no  time  in  making  an  effort  to  prove  to  her  how  amply 
he  recognized  her  object  in  asking  him  to  The  Moor- 
ing. But  at  the  same  time,  if  pleased,  she  was  also 
surprised.  At  any  rate,  she  would  take  good  care  that 
he  did  not  lapse  in  his  attentions  to  Phyllis;  as  she 
knew  lovers  are  but  too  apt  to  lapse,  especially  when 
they  begin  well.  She  would,  for  instance,  send  him 
from  her  side  in  the  garden  after  dinner,  to  walk  with 
Phyllis  up  to  the  woods  where  a  nightingale  was  said 
to  be  in  the  habit  of  singing  when  the  lovely  summer 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  281 

twilight  had  waned  into  the  lovely  summer  night. 
With  the  nightingale's  song  in  their  ears,  two  ordinary 
young  persons  with  no  preconceived  theories  on  the 
subject  of  love,  have  been  known,  she  was  well  aware, 
to  become  lovers  of  the  most  aggressive  type.  Yes, 
she  had  great  hopes  of  the  nightingale. 

So,  apparently,  had  Herbert  Courtland. 

After  dinner  there  was  smoking  in  the  garden,  some 
feeding  of  the  peacocks  on  the  terraces,  while  the 
blackbirds  uttered  protests  against  such  an  absorption 
by  foreign  immigrants  of  the  bread  that  was  baked  for 
native  consumption.  Then  there  was  some  talk  of  the 
nightingale.  One  man  suggested  that  it  was  a  night- 
ingale attached  to  a  musical  box  which  the  enterprise 
of  a  local  inn  had  hired  for  the  summer  months,  send- 
ing a  man  to  wind  it  up  every  night  for  the  attraction 
of  visitors.  Then  it  was  that  Mr.  Courtland  said  he 
knew  a  spot  where  a  nightingale  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  singing  long  ago,  when  his  explorations  of  the 
Thames  River  had  preceded  those  of  the  Fly  River. 
He  found  three  persons  who  expressed  their  willing- 
ness to  accept  his  guidance  to  the  spot,  if  it  were  not 
too  far  away.  One  of  these  was  Phyllis,  the  other  two 
were  notorious  lovers.  Off  they  started  without  hats 
or  caps. 

This  Ella  heard  when  she  returned  to  the  garden, 
whence  she  had  been  called  away  for  ten  minutes  to 
interview  a  man  who  had  an  electric  launch  for  sale. 

The  news,  communicated  to  her  by  her  husband  in 
answer  to  her  inquiry,  had  surprised  her.  That  was 
why  she  had  given  a  little  laugh  with  a  tone  of  derision 
in  it  when  she  had  said  : 


282  PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA. 

"A  nightingale!  How  lovely!  I  hope  they  may 
find  it.  It  shouldn't  prove  so  arduous  as  the  quest  of 
the  meteor-bird.  I  do  hope  that  those  children  will 
not  catch  cold.  It  was  a  trifle  imprudent." 

"  Imprudent?  " 

"  Going  off  that  way  with  nothing  on  their  heads." 

"  Or  in  them.  Happy  children  !  "  cried  a  moralizing 
novelist,  who  was  smoking  an  extremely  good  cigar — 
it  had  not  come  from  his  own  tobacconist. 

"  We  can't  all  be  novel-writers,"  said  one  of  the 
women. 

"  Thank  the  Lord  !  "  said  one  of  the  men,  with 
genuine  piety. 

In  three-quarters  of  an  hour  the  members  of  the 
quest  party  returned.  They  had  been  fully  rewarded 
for  their  trouble  ;  they  had  been  listening  to  the  night- 
ingale for  nearly  twenty  minutes,  they  said  ;  it  had 
been  very  lovely,  they  agreed,  without  a  single  dis- 
sentient voice.  It  probably  was ;  at  any  rate  they 
were  very  silent  for  the  rest  of  the  night. 

"  You  have  begun  well,"  said  Ella  to  Herbert,  when 
they  found  themselves  together  in  the  drawing  room, 
later  on,  shortly  before  midnight.  Someone  was  play- 
ing on  the  piano,  so  that  the  general  conversation  and 
yawning  were  not  interfered  with.  "  You  have  begun 
well.  You  will  soon  get  to  know  her  if  your  other 
days  here  are  like  to-day.  That  nightingale  !  Oh,  yes, 
you  will  soon  get  to  know  her." 

He  shook  his  head. 

"  I  doubt  it,"  said  he,  in  a  low  tone.  His  eyes  were 
turned  in  the  direction  of  Phyllis.  She  was  on  a  seat 
at  an  open  window,  the  twilight  of  moonlight  and 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  283 

lamplight  glimmering  about  her  hair.  "  I  doubt  it. 
It  takes  a  man  such  as  I  am  a  long  time  to  know  such 
a  girl  as  Phyllis  Ayrton." 

That  was  a  saying  which  had  a  certain  amount  of 
irritation  for  Ella.  He  had  never  said  anything  in  the 
past  about  her,  Ella,  being  beyond  the  knowledge  of 
ordinary  men. 

"  That's  a  very  good  beginning,"  said  she,  with  a 
little  laugh  that  meant  much.  "  But  don't  despair. 
After  all,  girls  are  pretty  much  alike.  I  was  a  girl 
once — it  seems  a  long  time  ago.  I  thought  then  that 
I  knew  a  great  deal  about  men.  Alas !  all  that  I  have 
learned  since  is  simply  that  they  know  a  great  deal 
about  me.  Am  I  different  from  other  women,  I  won- 
der ?  Am  I  more  shallow — more  transparent  ?  Was 
I  ever  an  enigma  to  you,  Bertie?" 

"  You  were  always  a  woman,"  he  said.     "  That  is 

Why " 

"  That  is  why " 

"  That  is  why  I  am  here  to-night.  If  you  were  not 
a  true  woman  I  should  be  far  away." 

"  You  are  far  away — from  me,  Bertie." 

"  No,  no !  I  am  only  beginning  to  appreciate  you — 
to  understand  you." 

"  I  am  to  be  understood  through  the  medium  of 
Phyllis  Ayrton  ?  Isn't  that  like  looking  at  happiness 
through  another's  eyes?" 

He  did  not  appear  to  catch  her  meaning  at  once. 
He  looked  at  her  and  then  his  eyes  went  across  the 
room  to  Phyllis.  At  the  same  instant  the  perform- 
ance on  the  piano  ceased.  Everyone  said  "  Thanks, 
awfully  good,"  and  there  were  some  audible  yawns. 


284  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

There  was  a  brandy  and  soda  yearning  in  the  men's 
eyes. 

"  We'll  get  off  to  bed  ;  someone  may  begin  to  play 
something  else,"  whispered  the  hostess  to  one  of  her 
lady  guests. 

The  men  looked  as  if  they  had  heard  the  sugges- 
tion and  heartily  approved  of  it. 

The  next  evening  Ella  was  fortunate  enough  to  get 
beside  Herbert  once  again — she  had  scarcely  had  an 
opportunity  of  exchanging  a  word  with  him  all  day. 
He  had  been  with  Phyllis  alone  in  the  Canadian 

canoe.     It  only  held  two  comfortably,  otherwise 

But  no  one  had  volunteered  to  put  its  capacity  to  the 
test.  Ella  had  gone  in  one  of  the  punts  with  four  or 
five  of  her  guests ;  but  the  punt  never  overtook  the 
canoe.  It  was  those  of  the  guests  who  had  been  in 
the  punt  that  afterward  said  it  was  very  funny  to  ob- 
serve the  chagrin  of  Queen  Guinevere  when  she  found 
that  her  Sir  Launcelot  had  discovered  an  Elaine. 

"  You  have  had  a  delightful  day,  I'm  sure,"  said 
Ella.  She  had  found  him  at  the  bottom  of  the  gar- 
den just  before  dinner.  It  was  not  for  her  he  was 
loitering  there. 

"  Delightful  ?  Perhaps.  I  shall  know  more  about 
it  ten  years  hence,"  he  replied. 

"You  are  almost  gruff  as  well  as  unintelligible," 
said  she. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  cried.  "  Pray  forgive  me, 
Ella." 

"  I'll  forgive  your  gruffness  if  you  make  yourself 
intelligible,"  said  she.  "  You  frighten  me.  Ten  years 
hence  ?  What  has  happened  to-day  ?  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  285 

"  Oh,  nothing  whatever  has  happened !  and  as  for 
ten  years  hence — well,  in  ten  years  hence  I  shall 
be  looking  back  to  this  day  either  as  one  of  the  hap- 
piest of  my  life,  or  as  Francesca  looked  back  upon  her 
tempo  fe  lice" 

"  Oh,  now  that  you  get  into  a  foreign  language  you 
are  quite  intelligible.  You  have  not  spoken  ?  " 

"Spoken?  I?  To  her — to  her?  I  have  not 
spoken.  I  don't  believe  that  I  shall  ever  have  the 
courage  to  speak  to  her  in  the  sense  you  mean." 

Ella  smiled  as  she  settled  a  rose  on  the  bodice  of 
her  evening  dress — its  red  petals  were  reposing  in 
that  little  interspace  that  dimpled  the  soft  shell-pink 
of  her  bosom.  The  man  before  her  had  once  kissed 
her. 

She  smiled,  as  she  knew  that  he  was  watching  her. 
She  wondered  if  he  had  forgotten  that  kiss. 

"Why  should  you  lose  courage  at  this  juncture?" 
she  asked.  "  She  hasn't,  up  to  the  present,  shown  any 
very  marked  antipathy  to  you,  so  far  as  I  can  see.  She 
is  certainly  not  wanting  in  courage,  if  you  are." 

"  Ella,"  he  cried,  but  in  a  low  voice,  "  Ella,  when  I 
look  at  her,  when  I  think  of  her,  I  feel  inclined  to 
throw  my  bag  into  a  trap  and  get  back  to  town — get 
back  to  New  Guinea  with  as  little  delay  as  possible." 

"  You  would  run  away  ?  "  said  she,  still  smiling.  She 
had  begun  to  work  with  the  rose  in  her  bosom  once 
more.  "  You  would  run  away  ?  Well,  you  ran  away 
once  before,  you  know." 

She  could  not  altogether  keep  the  sneer  out  of  her 
voice  ;  she  could  not  quite  deprive  her  words  of  their 
sting.  They  sounded  to  her  own  ears  like  the  hiss  of  a 


286  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

lash  in  the  air.  She  was  amazed  at  the  amount  of  bit- 
terness in  her  voice — amazed  and  ashamed. 

He  stood  before  her,  silently  looking  at  her.  There 
was  no  reproach  in  his  eyes. 

"  Oh,  Bertie,  Bertie,  forgive  me !  "  she  said,  laying 
her  hand  on  his  arm.  "  Forgive  me  ;  I  don't  know 
what  I  am  saying." 

There  was  some  piteousness  in  her  voice  and  eyes. 
She  was  appealing  to  him  for  pity,  but  he  did  not 
know  it.  Every  man  thinks  that  the  world  was  made 
for  himself  alone,  and  he  goes  tramping  about  it,  quite 
careless  as  to  where  he  plants  his  heavy  feet.  When 
occasionally  he  gets  a  thorn  in  one  of  his  feet,  he  feels 
quite  aggrieved.  He  never  stops  to  think  of  all  the 
things  his  foot  crushes  quite  casually. 

Herbert  Courtland  had  no  capacity  for  knowing  how 
the  woman  before  him  was  suffering.  He  should  have 
known,  from  the  words  he  had  just  heard  her  speak. 
He  should  have  known  that  they  had  been  wrung 
from  her.  He  did  not  know,  however;  he  was  not 
thinking  of  her. 

"  Bertie,"  she  said  again,  "  Bertie,  you  are  not  angry  ? 
I  did  not  know  what  I  was  saying." 

"  You  are  a  woman,"  he  said  gently,  and  it  was  just 
by  reason  of  this  gentleness  that  there  seemed  to  be  a 
reproach  in  his  voice.  He  reproached  her  for  being  a 
woman. 

"  I  am  a  woman — just  as  other  women,  just  as  other 
women."  Her  voice  sounded  like  a  moan.  "  I  thought 
myself  different,  stronger — perhaps  worse  than  other 
women.  I  was  wrong.  Oh,  Bertie  !  cannot  you  see 
that  she  loves  you  as  I  loved  you  long  ago — oh,  so 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  287 

long  ago  ?  And  someone  has  said  that  there  is  no 
past  tense  in  love  !  No,  no !  she  does  not  love  you  as 
I  loved  you — guiltily ;  no,  her  love  is  the  love  that 
purifies,  that  exalts.  She  loves  you,  and  she  waits  for 
you  to  tell  her  that  you  love  her.  You  love  her, 
Bertie  ?  " 

There  was  a  long  pause  before  he  said  : 

"Do  I?" 

"  Do  you  not?" 

"  God  knows." 

And  it  was  at  this  point  that  Phyllis  came  up.  Was 
there  no  expression  of  suspicion  on  her  face  as  she 
looked  at  them  standing  together? 

If  there  was,  they  failed  to  notice  it. 

"  I  came  out  to  get  a  rose,"  she  said.  "  How  quickly 
you  dressed,  Ella  !  Ah,  you  have  got  your  rose — a 
beauty!  Your  gardener  is  generous;  he  actually 
allows  you  to  pluck  your  own  roses." 

"Mr.  Courtland  will  choose  one  for  you,"  said  Ella. 
"You  may  trust  Mr.  Courtland." 

"  To  choose  me  a  rose  ?  Well,  on  that  recommen- 
dation, Mr.  Courtland,  I  think  I  may  safely  place 
myself  in  your  hands.  I  will  accept  a  rose  of  your 
choosing." 

And  she  did. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

"LET  THEM  BOTH  GO  TOGETHER  TO  PERDITION." 

THERE  could  be  no  doubt  whatever  that,  after  all, 
he  had  not  proposed  to  her. 

That  was  what  Herbert  Courtland's  fellow-guests 
said  when  they  learned  that  he  had  left  for  London  by 
an  early  train  on  Monday  morning. 

And  the  way  she  had  thrown  herself  at  his  head, 
too! 

Of  course  she  pretended  not  to  feel  his  departure 
any  more  than  the  rest  of  the  party ;  and  equally  as 
a  matter  of  course,  Mrs.  Linton  protested  that  Mr. 
Courtland  had  disappointed  her. 

And  perhaps  he  had,  too,  some  of  the  guests  whis- 
pered to  one  another. 

Mr.  Linton  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  remarked 
that  business  was  business. 

Everyone  agreed  with  the  general  accuracy  of  this 
assertion,  but  it  was  not  one  that  required  much  bold- 
ness to  make,  and  what  it  had  to  do  with  Mr.  Court- 
land's  hurried  departure  no  one  seemed  quite  able  to 
perceive. 

The  general  idea  that  had  prevailed  at  The  Mooring 
on  the  subject  of  Mr.  Courtland  was  that  he  would  re- 
main at  the  house  after  all  the  other  guests — Miss 
Ayrton  only  excepted — had  left. 

During  Monday  several  were  to  return  to  town,  and 


PHYLLIS   OF  PHILISTIA.  289 

the  remainder  on  Tuesday,  including  Miss  Ayrton. 
She  required  to  do  so  to  be  in  time  for  a  grand  func- 
tion at  which  Royalty  was  to  be  present  on  that  night. 
Mrs.  Linton  herself  meant  to  return  on  Wednesday 
afternoon. 

It  was  late  on  Sunday  night  when  Herbert  had  gone 
to  Ella's  side  and  told  her  that  he  found  it  necessary 
to  leave  for  town  early  in  the  morning  instead  of  wait- 
ing until  Tuesday  evening. 

"  Good  Heavens  ! "  she  cried  ;  "  what  is  the  meaning 
of  this?  What  will  people  say?  You  do  not  mean 

to  tell  me  that  she — she Oh,  no  ;  that  would  be 

impossible!  " 

"  Nothing  is  impossible,"  said  he.  "  Nothing — not 
even  my  running  away." 

"  You  have  told  her " 

"  I  have  told  her  nothing.  I  am  not  sure  that  I 
have  anything  to  tell  her.  I  am  going  away  to  make 
sure." 

"  Oh !  very  well.  But  I  must  say  that  I  think  you 
are  wrong — quite  wrong.  There  is  that  Mr.  Holland  ; 
he  is  coming  into  greater  prominence  than  ever  since 
that  article  of  his  appeared  in  the  Zeit  Geist.  Stephen 
says  he  will  certainly  have  to  leave  the  Church." 

"  What  has  Mr.  Holland  got  to  say  to— 

"  More  than  meets  the  eye.  You  must  remember 
that  three  months  ago  she  was  engaged  to  marry  him. 
Now,  though  I  don't  mean  to  say  that  she  ever  truly 
loved  him,  yet  there  is  no  smoke  without  fire  ;  it  is 
very  often  the  case  that  two  persons  who  have  become 
engaged  to  be  married  love  each  other.  Now,  if 
Phyllis  ever  had  a  tender  feeling  for  Mr.  Holland,  and 


290  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

only  threw  him  over  because  his  theories  are  not  those 
of  Philistia,  in  the  midst  of  which  she  has  always  lived, 
that  feeling  is  certain  to  become  tenderer  if  he  is 
about  to  be  made  a  martyr  of.  Would  you  like  to  see 
her  thrown  away  upon  George  Holland  ?  " 

Herbert  looked  at  the  woman  who  could  thus  plead 
the  cause — if  that  was  not  too  strong  a  phrase — of  the 
girl  whom  he  had  come  to  love.  He  felt  that  he  was 
only  beginning  to  know  something  about  woman  and 
her  nature. 

"  I  must  go,"  he  said.  "  I  must  go.  I  am  not  sure 
of  myself." 

"  You  had  best  make  sure  of  her,  and  then  you  will 
become  sure  of  yourself,"  said  Ella. 

"  That  would  be  to  do  her  an  injustice.  No.  I  feel 
that  I  must  go,"  he  cried. 

And  go  he  did. 

Those  of  the  guests  who  remained  during  Monday 
did  their  best  to  find  out  how  Phyllis  was  disposed  to 
regard  his  departure  ;  and  there  was  a  consensus  of 
opinion  among  them  that  she  seemed  greatly  morti- 
fied, though  she  made  a  splendid  fight,  trying  to  appear 
utterly  indifferent. 

There  was,  however,  no  ignoring  the  circumstance 
that  Ella  was  elated  at  his  departure  ;  some  of  her 
guests  even  went  so  far  as  to  suggest  that  she  had 
accelerated  his  departure,  giving  him  to  understand 
that,  however  a  young  woman  might  throw  herself  at 
his  head, — and  didn't  Phyllis  just  throw  herself  at  his 
head  ? — he  had  no  right  to  give  her  all  his  attention  ; 
a  hostess  had  a  right  to  claim  some  of  his  spare  mo- 
ments. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  291 

It  was  not  until  Tuesday,  when  Mr.  Linton  had  left 
for  London,  and  Phyllis  was  alone  with  Ella  for  an 
hour  before  lunch,  that  the  latter  endeavored  to  find 
out  what  she  thought  of  Herbert  Courtland. 

"  Has  Stephen  been  Speaking  to  you  about  George 
Holland?  "she  inquired.  She  thought  that  the  best 
way  to  lead  Phyllis  to  talk  about  Herbert  would  be  by 
beginning  to  talk  about  George  Holland. 

"  Oh,  yes  !  "  said  Phyllis.  "  He  appears  to  be  greatly 
interested  in  Mr.  Holland.  He  thinks  that  he  must 
leave  the  Church." 

"  That  would  be  very  sad,"  remarked  Ella.  "  It 
would  seem  very  like  persecution,  would  it  not?" 

"  I  cannot  see  that  there  would  be  any  injustice  in 
the  matter,"  said  Phyllis.  "  If  a  man  chooses  to  write 
such  things  as  he  has  written,  he  must  take  the  conse- 
quences. I,  for  my  part,  intend  keeping  away  from  the 
church  as  long  as  Mr.  Holland  remains  in  the  pulpit." 

She  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  refer  to  the  re- 
marks made  by  Mr.  Holland  upon  the  occasion  of  his 
last  visit  to  her,  though  these  words  might  not  be 
without  interest  to  Ella. 

"  But  it  seems  hard,  doesn't  it,  to  deprive  a  man  of 
his  profession  simply  because  he  holds  certain  views 
on  what  is,  after  all,  an  abstract  subject — the  patri- 
archs, or  the  prophets  and  things  of  that  sort?"  said 
Ella. 

"  Lady  Earlscourt  said  that  he  should  be  forgiven, 
because  he  really  didn't  hold  the  views  which  he  had 
premched,"  laughed  Phyllis.  "  She  also  said  that  he 
should  not  be  regarded  as  an  atheist,  because  he  be- 
lieved not  only  in  one  God,  but  in  two." 


292  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  I  wonder  how  many  Herbert  Courtland  believes 
in,"  said  Ella.  "  You  told  me  he  talked  to  you  on 
that  topic  the  first  night  you  met.  Was  it  about  God 
you  and  he  have  been  talking  lately?" 

"  I'm  afraid  it  was  not." 

"  Oh !  you  found  a  more  interesting  topic,  and  one 
of  more  importance  to  two  people  in  the  bloom  of 
youth  ?  " 

"  Ella ! " 

"  Oh,  my  dear,  I  don't  mean  anything  dreadful. 
Only,  you  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  a  healthy  man 
and  a  healthy  woman  will  never  talk,  when  they  are 
alone  together,  about  God,  when  they  can  talk  about 
each  other.  I  think  Herbert  Courtland  is  about  the 
healthiest  man  I  know,  and  I'm  sure  that  you  are  the 
healthiest  girl.  You  and  he  are  most  sympathetic 
companions.  You  are  not  at  all  stupidly  coy,  my 
sweet  maiden." 

"  I  like  Mr.  Courtland,  and  why  should  I  be  coy?" 

"  Why,  indeed  ?  I  wonder  what  the  people  who 
have  just  left  us  will  say  about  it  ?  " 

"  About  it  ?     About  what !  " 

"  Your  coyness — or  absence  of  coyness.  Will  they 
say  that  you  threw  yourself  at  his  head  ?  " 

(As  a  matter  of  fact,  as  is  already  known,  that  is  just 
what  the  majority  of  the  guests  did  say  about  her.) 

Phyllis  reddened  and  seemed — for  a  moment  or  two 
— almost  angry.  Then  she  made  a  little  gesture, 
expressive  of  indifference,  as  she  cried  : 

"  After  all,  what  does  it  matter  what  they  said  ?  I 
don't  care  about  them.  It  is  for  you  I  care,  Ella — 
you,  only  you." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  293 

"  Heavens !  how  seriously  you  say  that ! "  cried 
Ella.  "  There's  no  cause  for  seriousness,  I  hope,  even 
if  you  do  care  a  great  deal  for  me,  which  I  know  you 
do.  If  you  said  so  much  to  a  man, — say,  Herbert 
Courtland, — it  would  be  quite  another  matter.  There 
would  be  sufficient  cause  for  seriousness  then.  But 
you  didn't  say  so  much  to  him.  He  ran  away  before 
you  could  say  it." 

"  Oh,  Ella  !  please  don't  talk  in  that  way.  It  is  not 
like  yourself  to  talk  in  that  way." 

"  How  do  you  know  what  is  like  myself  and  what  is 
not  ?  You  have  only  seen  one  side  of  me,  and  I  don't 
think  that  you  have  understood  even  what  you  have 
seen.  Great  Heavens!  how  could  I  expect  that  you 
should.  Not  until  within  a  few  months  ago  had  I 
myself  any  idea  that  my  nature  was  made  up  of  more 
than  one  element.  Do  you  fancy  now  that  you  will 
always  be  in  the  future  as  you  have  been  in  the  past  ? 
The  same  placid,  sweet  English  girl,  with  serious 
thoughts  at  times  about  your  own  soul  and  other 
people's  souls?  a  maiden  living  with  her  feet  only 
touching  the  common  clay  of  this  earth  ?  Wait  until 
your  hour  comes — your  hour  of  love  ;  your  hour  of 
fate  ;  your  hour  of  self-abandonment,  and  pray  to  your 
God  that  you  may  come  through  it  as  well  as  I  came 
through  mine." 

"  Ella,  dearest  Ella  !  " 

"You  know  nothing  of  that  hour — that  terrible 
hour!  Wait  until  it  comes  to  you  before  you  think  a 
word  of  evil  against  any  woman  that  lives  in  the  world. 
Wait  until  your  hour  of  jealousy  comes — wait  until 
you  find  that  your  hair  is  turning  gray.  The  most 


294  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

tragical  moment  in  a  woman's  life  is  when  she  finds 
that  the  gray  hairs  will  not  be  kept  back.  That  is  the 
time  when  she  thinks  of  Heaven  most  seriously.  I 
have  not  yet  found  a  single  gray  hair  in  my  head,  but 
I  have  suffered  all  else ;  and  I  have  been  an  astonish- 
ment to  myself — as  I  have  been  to  you  more  than 
once  before  now,  and  as  I  certainly  am  to  you  at  the 
present  moment." 

She  had  spoken  at  first  with  quivering  lips,  her  fin- 
gers interlaced,  her  eyes  flashing.  She  had  sprung 
from  her  seat  and  had  begun  to  pace  the  room  just  as 
she  had  paced  Phyllis'  drawing  room  on  that  night 
when  she  had  missed  the  performance  of  "  Romeo  and 
Juliet,"  but  she  ended  with  a  laugh,  which  was  meant 
to  make  a  mock  of  the  seriousness  of  her  impassioned 
words,  but  which  only  had  the  effect  of  emphasizing 
her  passion  in  the  ears  of  the  girl. 

While  she  was  still  lying  back,  laughing,  in  the  chair 
into  which  she  had  thrown  herself  once  more,  Phyllis 
went  to  her  and  knelt  at  her  feet,  taking  her  hands 
just  as  Herbert  had  taken  her  hands  on  the  evening 
when  he  had  knelt  at  her  feet  in  her  own  house  after 
the  little  dinner  at  Mr.  Ayrton's. 

"  Ella,  Ella,"  she  whispered,  "  I  also  am  a  woman. 
Oh,  my  dearest !  I  think  that  I  can  understand  some- 
thing of  your  heart.  I  know  a  little.  Oh,  Ella,  Ella  ! 
I  would  do  anything  in  the  world  to  help  you — any- 
thing— anything! " 

"  Would  you  ?  "  cried  the  woman.  "  Would  you  do 
anything?  Would  you  give  up  Herbert  Courtland  in 
order  to  help  me  ?  " 

She  had  grasped  Phyllis  by  the  wrists  and  had  bent 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  295 

her  own  head  forward  until  her  face  was  within  an 
inch  of  Phyllis'.  Their  breaths  mingled.  Their  faces 
were  too  close  to  admit  of  either  of  them  seeing  the 
expression  that  was  in  the  eyes  of  the  other. 

"  Dearest  Ella,  you  will  not  break  my  heart !  "  said 
the  girl  piteously. 

"  Will  you  give  him  up  for  your  love  of  me  ?  "  the 
woman  cried  again,  and  Phyllis  felt  her  hands  tighten 
upon  her  wrists. 

"  I  will  forget  that  you  have  said  such  words,"  said 
the  girl. 

The  woman  flung  away  her  hands  after  retaining 
them  for  a  few  moments  in  silence,  and  then  throwing 
herself  back  in  her  chair,  laughed  loud  and  long. 

Phyllis  rose  to  her  feet. 

"  You  poor  dear  !  "  cried  Ella.  "  It  was  a  shame — a 
shame  to  play  such  a  jest  upon  you !  But  I  felt  in  a 
tragic  mood,  and  the  line  between  comedy  and  tragedy 
is  a  very  fine  one.  Forgive  my  little  freak,  dear;  and 
let  us  be  human  beings  once  more,  living  in  a  world 
that  cannot  be  taken  too  seriously.  Don't  go  by  the 
evening  train,  Phyllis ;  stay  all  night  with  me.  I  have 
so  much  to  say  to  you.  I  want  to  talk  to  you.  How 
can  you  leave  me  here  all  alone  ?  " 

Phyllis  could  have  told  her  that  how  she  could  leave 
her  all  alone  was  because  Herbert  Courtland  had  left 
for  London  on  the  previous  day.  She  did  not  make 
an  explanation  to  her  on  this  basis,  however;  she 
merely  said  that  it  would  interfere  with  her  plans  to 
remain  longer  at  The  Moorings.  She  had  to  attend 
that  great  function  with  her  father  that  night. 

Ella  called  her  very  unkind,  but  showed  no  desire  to 


296  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

revert  to  the  topic  upon  which  they  had  been  con- 
versing,  when  she  had  thought  fit  to  ask  her  that 
jocular  question  which  Phyllis  had  said  she  would 
forget. 

But  Phyllis  did  not  keep  her  word.  On  the  contrary 
she  thought  of  nothing  else  but  that  question  all  the 
time  she  was  in  the  railway  carriage  going  to  Pad- 
dington. 

It  was  a  terrible  question  in  Phyllis'  eyes  for  a 
woman  with  a  husband  to  put  to  her  girl-friend. 

More  than  once  during  the  week  Phyllis  had  been 
led  to  ask  herself  if  she  was  quite  certain  that  her  ter- 
rible surmise  regarding  the  influence  which  dominated 
Ella's  recent  actions  was  true.  Now  and  again  she  felt 
an  impulse  to  fall  upon  her  knees  and  pray,  as  she  had 
once  before  prayed,  that  the  sin  of  that  horrible  sus- 
picion might  be  forgiven  her.  How  could  it  be  pos- 
sible, she  thought,  that  Ella  should  forget  all  that  a 
true  woman  should  ever  remember  ! 

But  now — now,  as  she  sat  in  the  train  on  her  way 
back  to  London,  there  was  no  room  left  in  her  mind 
for  doubt  on  this  matter.  The  tragic  earnestness  with 
which  Ella  had  asked  her  that  question,  tightening  her 
fingers  upon  her  wrists:  "  Will  you  give  up  Herbert 
Courtland  in  order  to  help  me  ? " — the  passionate 
whisper,  the  quivering  lips — all  told  her  with  over- 
whelming force  that  what  she  had  surmised  was  the 
truth. 

She  felt  that  Ella  had  confessed  to  her  that  her 
infatuation — Phyllis  called  it  infatuation — had  not 
passed  away,  though  she  had  been  strong  enough 
upon  that  night,  when  her  husband  had  so  suddenly 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  297 

returned,  to  fly  from  its  consequences.  No,  her  infat- 
uation had  not  died. 

But  Herbert  Courtland — what  of  him  ?  He  had 
also  had  strength — once.  Would  he  have  strength 
again  ?  He  had  told  her,  while  they  were  together  in 
one  of  the  boats  drifting  down  the  placid  river,  that  he 
believed  in  the  influence  which  a  woman  could  exer- 
cise upon  a  man's  life  being  capable  of  changing  his 
nature  so  completely  as  if  a  miracle  had  been  per- 
formed upon  him.  She  had  not  had  the  courage  to 
ask  him  if  he  had  any  particular  instance  in  his  mind 
that  impressed  this  belief  upon  him. 

Had  he  been  led  to  cast  that  infatuation — if  he  had 
ever  been  subjected  to  it — behind  him,  by  reason  of 
her  influence  over  him  since  she  had  repeated  to 
him  the  pathetic  words  of  Mrs.  Haddon,  and  he  had 
gone  straight  aboard  the  yacht  on  that  strange 
cruise  ? 

She  could  scarcely  doubt  that  he  was  ready  to 
acknowledge  how  great  had  been  her  influence  upon 
his  life.  He  had  shown  her  in  countless  ways  that  she 
had  accomplished  all  that  she  had  sought  to  achieve. 
She  had  had  no  need  to  throw  herself  at  his  head — 
the  phrase  which  Ella  suggested  her  fellow-guests 
would  probably  employ  in  referring  to  the  relative 
positions  of  Phyllis  and  Herbert.  No,  she  had  ever 
found  him  by  her  side,  and  it  did  not  need  her  to 
exercise  much  cleverness  to  keep  him  there. 

But  then,  why  had  he  so  suddenly  hurried  away 
from  that  pleasant  life  beside  the  still  waters  ? 

This  was  the  question  which  was  on  her  mind  as  the 
train  ran  into  the  station  at  Paddington.  She  got  out 


298  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA. 

of  the  carriage,  and  while  her  maid  went  to  look  after 
the  luggage,  she  glanced  down  the  platform  for  the 
footman.  He  came  up  to  her  in  a  moment  and  took 
her  dressing-bag  and  jewel-case. 

"  The  brougham  is  here,  I  suppose  ?  "  she  said,  as 
she  walked  down  the  platform. 

It  was  at  the  entrance  to  the  station,  he  told  her. 

She  paused  for  a  moment,  and  glanced  back  to  see 
if  there  had  been  much  luggage  in  the  train  which  she 
had  left — if  her  maid  would  be  likely  to  be  kept  wait- 
ing for  long.  At  that  instant  a  porter,  with  a  port- 
manteau on  his  shoulder  and  a  Gladstone  bag  in  his 
hand,  hurrying  up  by  the  side  of  the  train  which  was 
ready  to  depart  from  the  next  platform,  shouted  to  a 
group  of  Eton  boys  who  were  blocking  the  way  : 

"  By  your  leave,  gents  !  " 

She  started  and  took  a  step  to  one  side,  and  that 
instant  was  sufficient  to  make  her  aware  of  the  fact 
that  the  portmanteau  carried  by  the  porter  to  the 
train  which  was  about  to  leave  for  Maidenhead  was 
Herbert  Courtland's.  There  was  no  mistaking  it.  It 
bore  on  one  end  his  initials  and  his  private  sign. 

She  took  a  few  steps  nearer  the  train  by  which 
she  had  come,  and  followed  the  porter  with  her 
eyes. 

He  put  the  portmanteau  into  the  luggage  van,  and 
then  returned  with  the  Gladstone  bag  to  the  side  of  a 
compartment.  She  saw  him  place  it  in  the  network, 
and  touch  his  cap  as  he  received  his  douceur  from  the 
passenger  who  sat  at  the  door  with  an  evening  paper 
in  his  hand. 

She  saw  that  that  passenger  was  Herbert  Courtland. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  .        299 

She  told  the  footman  who  stood  beside  her  to  take 
her  bag  and  case  to  the  brougham  and  then  return  to 
help  her  maid  with  the  rest  of  the  luggage.  He  fol- 
•  lowed  her  down  the  platform. 

In  a  short  time  she  was  being  driven  home,  her 
maid  following  with  the  luggage  in  another  vehicle. 

She  did  not  begin  to  change  her  traveling  dress 
immediately  on  retiring  to  her  room.  She  did  not 
even  take  off  her  hat.  She  stood  at  the  window  look- 
ing out  over  a  scene  very  different  from  that  which 
had  been  before  her  eyes  every  day  during  the  pre- 
vious week.  After  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  listlessness 
at  the  window,  she  spent  another  quarter  of  an  hour 
sitting  motionless  in  a  chair.  Then  she  rose  and 
looked  at  herself  in  a  mirror  that  showed  her  herself 
from  head  to  foot.  She  examined  her  feet  with 
curious  deliberation,  and  then  looked  with  a  critical 
side  glance  at  the  reflection  of- her  face.  (She  could 
not  fail  to  have  noticed  that  it  was  unusually  pale.) 
She  removed  her  hat,  surveyed  herself  once  more, 
then,  turning  away  with  an  exclamation  of  impatience, 
she  crumpled  up  her  hat  with  both  her  hands  and 
flung  it,  just  as  a  wicked  child  would  have  flung  it, 
across  the  room. 

"  Let  them  both  go  together  to  perdition — to  per- 
dition— to  perdition !  "  she  said  with  a  bitterness  that 
had  never  previously  been  in  her  voice.  "  Let  them 
go  together.  I  have  done  my  best  for  them — for 
her — for  her.  I  give  them  up  now  for  evermore." 

After  a  minute  or  two  of  statuesque  passion  she 
went  across  the  room  and  picked  up  her  bruised  hat. 
She  looked  at  it,  turning  it  round  in  her  hands.  Then 


3°°         .  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

she  dropped  it  suddenly,  and  flung  herself  upon  the 
sofa,  crying  out  in  a  whirlwind  of  tears  : 

"  Oh,  Ella,  Ella,  I  would  have  saved  you — I  meant 
to  save  you,  indeed  !     I  would  have  done  everything  - 
to  save  you — everything ! " 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

"  I   WONDER  IF  I   EVER  LOVED  YOU   UNTIL  THIS 
MOMENT." 

IT  was  a  rather  tedious  evening  for  Ella  Linton 
after  Phyllis  had  taken  her  departure.  Why  on  earth, 
she  asked  herself,  had  she  been  such  a  fool  as  to  lay 
out  her  plans  to  have  this  lonely  evening  ?  Then  she 
remembered  that  two  of  her  guests  had  meant  to  stay 
until  Wednesday  morning,  but  had  received  a  letter 
necessitating  their  departure  for  town  on  Monday 
night.  But  this  fact  should  not  have  condemned  her 
to  a  solitary  evening,  Ella  reflected.  She  should  have 
been  thoughtful  enough  to  change  her  own  plans  to 
correspond  with  the  change  in  the  plans  of  her  guests. 
A  nice,  quiet,  contemplative  evening  beside  the  still 
waters  may  suit  the  requirements  of  some  tempera- 
ments,  but  it  was  not  just  what  Ella  regarded  as  most 
satisfying  to  her  mood  of  the  hour.  It  was  a  long 
time  since  she  had  spent  a  lonely  evening,  and  al- 
though she  had  now  rather  more  food  for  contempla- 
tion than  at  any  other  period  of  her  life,  she  did  not 
feel  contemplative. 

Then  it  suddenly  occurred  to  her  to  ask  herself  why, 
after  all,  should  she  be  condemned  to  a  contemplative 
evening  ?  What  was  there  to  hinder  her  taking  a  train 
to  town  after  she  had  dined  ?  Once  in  town  she  knew 
that  all  prospect  of  contemplation  would  be  at  an  end. 


302  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

She  rang  her  bell  and  told  her  maid  that  she  had 
changed  her  mind  in  regard  to  staying  another  night 
at  The  Mooring;  she  would  leave  after  dinner;  wasn't 
there  a  train  about  nine  from  Maidenhead  ? 

It  was  when  she  was  about  to  go  down  to  dinner 
that  she  heard  the  sound  of  wheels  upon  the  gravel 
walk.  Was  it  possible  that  her  newly  made  plans 
might  also  be  deranged?  Was  this  a  fresh  visitor 
arriving  by  a  fly  from  Maidenhead — she  saw  that  the 
vehicle  was  a  fly. 

There  was  no  one  in  the  room  to  hear  the  cry  of 
delight  that  she  gave  when  she  saw  Herbert  at  the 
porch  of  the  house,  the  driver  having  deposited  his 
portmanteau  and  Gladstone  bag  at  his  feet. 

He  had  returned  to  her — he,  whom  she  fancied  to 
be  far  away  ;  he  who  had  forsaken  her,  as  she  thought, 
as  she  feared,  as  she  (at  times)  hoped,  forever.  He 
had  returned  to  her.  There  was  no  one  now  to  stand 
between  them.  He  was  all  her  own. 

She  flung  off  the  dress  which  she  was  wearing, — 
it  was  her  plainest  evening  gown, — and  had  actually 
got  on  another,  a  lovely  one  that  she  had  never  yet 
worn,  before  her  maid  arrived  at  her  dressing  room. 

"  Louise,"  she  said,  "  send  a  message  downstairs  to 
show  Mr.  Courtland  to  his  room,  and  mention  that  he 
will  dine  with  me.  Come  back  at  once.  I  have  got 
so  far  in  my  dressing  without  you ;  I  can't  go  much 
further,  however." 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  she  was  surveying  herself 
in  her  mirror  just  as  Phyllis  had  been  doing  an  hour 
sooner ;  only  on  her  face  was  a  very  different  expres- 
sion from  that  which  Phyllis  had  worn.  Her  eyes 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  303 

were  brilliant  as  they  never  had  been  before,  except 
perhaps  once  ;  her  face  was  not  pale,  but  full  of  soft 
color,  as  if  she  were  standing  beneath  the  shadow  of  a 
mighty  rose-leaf  with  the  sunlight  above.  Her  neck 
and  arms  were  of  the  same  delicate  tinge.  Her  smile 
she  gave  as  she  surveyed  herself  was  a  smile  of  tri- 
umph, very  different  from  the  expression  on  poor 
Phyllis'  features  as  she  flung  her  hat  across  the  room. 

"  Mine,  mine,  mine!"  she  whispered,  nodding  with 
a  smile  at  the  lovely  thing  so  full  of  warm  life  that 
faced  her  with  a  smile.  "  He  is  mine — he  has  come 
back  to  me,  I  will  keep  him.  I  shall  be  able  to  keep 
him,  I  think." 

She  had  scarcely  entered  the  drawing  room  before 
he  was  beside  her,  and  he  had  scarcely  entered  before 
a  servant  announced  that  dinner  was  served.  They 
were  seated  at  the  dinner  table  before  they  had 
exchanged  half  a  dozen  words — before  she  had  time 
to  ask  him  why  he  had  returned. 

And  at  the  table,  with  a  servant  at  each  end,  what 
could  they  say? 

Well,  she  gave  in  detail,  with  the  accuracy  of  a  rail- 
way time-table,  the  hours  of  the  departure  of  the 
various  guests,  down  to  the  last  departed  guest,  who 
chanced  to  be  Miss  Ayrton.  Yes,  she  was  obliged  to 
go  up  to  town  to  be  present  at  that  important  function 
which  was  to  be  given  in  the  presence  of  Royalty, 
though,  she,  Mrs.  Linton,  was  convinced  that  Phyllis 
would  much  prefer  remaining  in  the  midst  of  that 
exquisite  quietude  which  seemed  to  be  found  only  up 
the  river.  She  had  wanted  her  dear  Phyllis  to  stay 
until  the  morrow,  but  poor  Phyllis'  sense  of  duty  had 


304  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

been,  as  unfortunately  it  always  was,  too  great  for  her 
inclination. 

"  Unfortunately  ?  "  said  Herbert. 

"  Did  I  say  unfortunately  ?  "  she  cried.  "  How 
funny!  I  meant  of  course,  unfortunately  for  her 
friends — for  myself  in  this  particular  case.  But,  after 
all,  we  had  a  delightful  week  together.  It  has  done 
us  all  good — even  you." 

"  Why  the  '  even  '  ?  "  he  asked,  with  a  laugh. 

"  Oh,  well,  because  you  are  not  expected  to  feel  the 
fatigues  of  a  London  season.  And  then  you  must 
remember  that  you  had  a  yachting  cruise  which  must 
have  done  you  a  world  of  good,"  she  added,  with  a 
smile  born  of  the  mood  which  was  on  her — a  mood 
of  joy  and  laughter  and  daring.  She  felt  that  she 
could  say  anything  she  pleased  to  say  to  him  now ; 
she  could  have  referred  with  a  laugh  to  his  running 
away  on  that  strange  cruise  of  his. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  it  did  me  a  great  deal  of  good." 

He  spoke  slowly,  and  her  quick  ear  detected  a  tone 
of  gravity  in  his  voice.  What  could  he  mean  ?  Oh, 
yes. 

"  I  hope  that  that  last  phase  of  the  mine  will  soon 
be  settled,"  said  she.  "  It  was  that  which  curtailed 
your  cruise,  you  will  remember." 

"  I  certainly  do  remember." 

"  I  hope  the  business  will  soon  be  settled  one  way 
or  another.  I  don't  think  this  running  to  Paris  so 
frequently  is  good  for  Stephen.  Haven't  you  noticed 
how  poorly  he  has  been  looking  of  late  ?  " 

"  He  didn't  seem  to  me  to  be  particularly  robust. 
But  I  think  that  he  pulled  himself  together  while  he 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHIL1STIA.  305 

was  here.  Oh,  yes  !  another  week  will  see  us  free 
from  this  business." 

"  And  with  an  extra  million  or  so  in  your  pockets." 

"  Well,  something  in  that  way." 

That  was  how  they  talked  while  the  servants  were 
present — about  business  and  money  and  matters  that 
may  be  discussed  in  the  presence  of  servants. 

Then  they  went  together  into  the  drawing  room.  It 
was  not  yet  dark  enough  for  the  candles  to  be  lighted. 
The  exquisite  summer  twilight  was  hanging  over  the 
river  and  the  banks  opposite,  wooded  from  the  water's 
edge  to  the  summit.  It  was  the  hour  of  delicate  blue 
touched  with  pink  about  the  borders.  The  hour  of 
purple  and  silver  stars  had  not  yet  come. 

She  threw  open  one  of  the  windows  on  its  hinges, 
and  in  a  moment  the  room  was  flooded  with  the 
perfume  of  the  roses  of  the  garden.  She  stood  in  the 
opening  of  the  window  and  seemed  to  drink  in  the 
garden  scents  before  they  floated  into  the  room. 
Then  from  some  secret  nestling  place  in  the  dark 
depths  of  the  clipped  hedge  there  came  the  even-song 
of  a  blackbird.  It  was  replied  to  from  the  distance; 
and  the  silence  that  followed  only  seemed  to  be 
silence.  It  was  a  silence  made  vocal  by  the  bending 
of  a  thousand  notes — all  musical.  The  blackbirds, 
the  thrushes,  the  robins  made  up  a  chorus  of  harmony 
as  soothing  to  the  soul  as  silence.  Then  came  the 
cooings  of  the  wood  pigeons.  The  occasional  shriek 
of  a  peacock  was  the  only  note  out  of  harmony  with 
the  feeling  breathed  by  the  twilight. 

She  stood  at  the  open  window,  her  back  turned  to 
him,  for  some  time.  He  felt  slightly  embarrassed. 


3°6  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

Her  attitude  somehow  suggested  to  him  an  imprison- 
ment ;  he  was  captured  ;  she  was  standing  between 
him  and  the  open  air ;  she  was  barring  his  passage. 

Suddenly  she  turned.  With  her  movement  there 
seemed  to  float  into  the  room  .a  great  breath  of  rose- 
scent.  It  was  only  that  the  light  showed  him  more 
clearly  at  that  moment  the  glowing  whiteness  of  her 
neck  and  shoulders  and  arms. 

"Why  have  you  come  back?"  she  cried,  almost 
piteously. 

"  Surely  you  know  why,  Ella,"  said  he. 

"  I  know  nothing :  a  man  is  one  thing  one  day  and 
quite  the  opposite  the  next  day.  How  can  I  know 
anything  of  what  is  in  your  mind  to-day — in  your 
heart  to-day?" 

"  I  came  came  back  thinking  to  find  her  here  still — I 
fancied  that  you  said  she  would  stay  until  you  were 
returning  to-morrow." 

"  You  came  back  for  her  ?  " 

"  I  came  back  to  see  her — I  find  that  I  cannot  live 
without  seeing  her." 

"  You  have  only  found  that  out  since  you  left  here 
yesterday  morning  ?  " 

"  Only  since  I  left  here.  I  told  you  that  I  was  not 
sure  of  myself.  Thy  is  why  I  went  away." 

"  You  went  away  to  make  sure  of  yourself,  and  now 
you  return  to  make  sure  of  her  ?  " 

"  Ah,  if  I  could  but  think  that !  If  I  could  only  be 
as  sure  of  her  as  I  am  of  myself.  But  what  am  I  that 
I  should  dare  to  hope  ?  Oh,  she  is  above  all  woman- 
kind— a  crown  of  girlhood !  What  am  I  that  I  should 
ask  to  wear  this  crown  of  girlhood  ?  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  307 

"  You  are  a  king  of  men,  Bertie.  Only  for  the  king 
of  men  is  such  a  crown." 

She  laughed  as  she  stood  looking  at  him  as  she 
leaned  against  the  half  open  door  of  the  window,  one 
hand  being  on  the  framework  above  her  head. 

"  Ella,  you  know  her !  "  he  cried,  facing  her.  She 
began  to  swing  gently  to  the  extent  of  an  inch  or  two, 
still  leaning  on  the  edge  of  the  hinged  window.  She 
was  looking  at  him  through  half-closed,  curious  eyes. 
"  Ella,  you  know  her — she  has  always  been  your 
friend  ;  tell  me  if  I  should  speak  to  her  or  if  I  should  go 
back  to  the  work  that  I  have  begun  in  New  Guinea." 

"  Would  you  be  guided  by  me,  Bertie  ?  "  she  asked, 
suddenly  ceasing  her  movement  with  the  window  and 
going  very  close  to  him  indeed — so  close  that  he  could 
feel  the  gracious  warmth  of  her  face  and  bare  neck 
and  shoulders.  "  Would  you  be  guided  by  me,  I 
wonder  ?  " 

"  Have  I  not  been  guided  by  you  up  to  the  present, 
Ella?  "  said  he.  "  Should  I  be  here  to-night  if  it  were 
not  for  your  goodness  ?  I  laughed  some  time  ago — 
how  long  ago  it  seems ! — when  you  told  me — you  said 
it  was  your  dearest  wish — I  did  not  then  believe  it 
possible " 

"  And  do  you  fancy  that  I  believed  it  possible?"  she 
asked,  with  some  sadness  in  her  voice. 

"  Great  Heavens  !  Ella,  do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that 
you Oh,  no,  it  is  impossible  !  You  knew  me." 

"  I  fancied  that  I  knew  you,  Bertie.  I  fancied  that 
I  knew  myself." 

"  Ella,  Ella,  for  God's  sake  don't  let  us  drift  again. 
Have  you  no  recollection  of  that  terrible  time  through 


3°8  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

which  we  both  passed — that  ordeal  by  fire.  Ella,  we 
were  plucked  from  the  fire — she  plucked  us  from  the 
very  fire  of  hell  itself — oh,  don't  let  us  drift  in  that 
direction  again  !  " 

He  had  walked  away  from  her.  He  was  beginning 
to  recall  too  vividly  the  old  days,  under  the  influence 
of  her  gracious  presence  so  close  to  him — not  so  close 
as  it  had  been,  but  still  close  enough  to  bring  back  old 
memories. 

"  Come  here  and  stand  beside  me,  Bertie,"  said  she. 

After  a  moment's  hesitation  he  went  to  her,  slowly, 
not  with  the  rapture  of  a  lover — not  with  the  old  pas- 
sion trembling  in  his  hands,  on  his  lips. 

He  went  to  her. 

She  put  her  hands  behind  her  and  looked  at  him  in 
the  face  for  a  long  time.  The  even-songs  of  the  birds 
mixed  with  the  scent  of  the  roses  ;  the  blue  shadow 
of  the  twilight  was  darkening  over  the  trees  at  the 
foot  of  the  garden. 

"  Do  you  remember  the  oleanders  ?  "  she  said.  "  I 
never  breathe  in  such  a  twilight  as  this  without  seeing 
before  me  the  oleanders  outlined  against  its  blue.  It 
was  very  sweet  at  that  old  place  on  the  Arno." 

"  Ella,  Ella— for  God's  sake " 

"You  told  me  that  terrible  secret  of  your  life — that 
you  loved  me.  I  wonder  if  I  knew  what  it  meant, 
Bertie  ?  I  told  you  that  I  loved  you :  that  was  more 
terrible  still.  I  wonder  if  you  knew  what  that  meant, 
Bertie  ?  " 

He  did  not  speak. 

The  bird's  songs  outside  were  becoming  softer  and 
more  intermittent. 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  3<>9 

She  gave  a  sudden  cry  as  if  stung  with  pain,  and 
started  away  from  the  window.  She  threw  herself 
down  on  the  couch,  burying  her  face  in  the  pillows — 
he  could  see  through  the  dim  room  the  whiteness  of 
her  arms.  She  was  breathing  convulsively  ;  but  she 
was  not  sobbing. 

He  remained  beside  the  open  window.  He,  too, 
was  not  breathing  so  regularly  as  he  had  breathed  a 
short  time  before. 

He  heard  the  sigh  that  came  from  her  as  she  raised 
her  head  from  the  pillow. 

Then  she  said  : 

"  I  wonder  if  you  ever  really  loved  me,  Bertie." 

"  Oh,  my  God  !  " 

"  I  wonder  if  you  ever  loved  me ;  and  I  wonder  if  I 
ever  loved  you  until  this  moment." 

There  was  a  silence.  Outside  there  was  a  little 
whisper  of  moving  wings,  but  no  voice  of  bird. 

There  was  a  silence,  and  out  of  it  a  low  voice  cried 
softly,  softly  : 

"  Bertie,  Bertie,  my  love,  come  to  me." 

He  took  a  step  toward  her,  a  second  step — and  then 
he  stood,  rigid,  breathless,  for  he  heard  another  soft 
voice  that  said : 

"  His  honor  is  the  honor  of  his  mother  and  his  sister, 
upon  which  no  stain  must  come" 

He  heard  that  voice,  and  with  a  cry  he  covered 
his  face  with  his  hands,  and  turning,  fled  through  the 
open  window  into  the  garden. 

She  lay  there  on  her  couch,  that  lovely  white  crea- 
ture who  had  been  saved  so  as  by  fire.  There  are  two 


3^0  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

fires :  the  one  is  the  fire  that  consumes  the  heart  until 
all  that  is  left  of  it  is  the  dust  of  ashes ;  the  other  is 
the  fire  that  purifies  the  soul  even  unto  its  salvation  ; 
and  yet  both  fires  burn  alike,  so  that  men  and  women 
know  not  which  is  burning  within  them. 

Did  she  know  that  she  was  saved  so  as  by  fire  ? 

She  laughed  as  though  he  could  still  hear  her;  but 
after  her  laugh  there  came  a  few  moments  of  over- 
whelming bitterness  that  sent  her  on  her  knees  by 
the  side  of  the  couch  in  self-abasement. 

"  Kill  me— kill  me,  O  God  !  "  she  wailed.  "  Kill 
me,  for  I  am  not  fit  to  live  !  " 

But  she  was  spared. 

After  a  time  she  found  strength  to  rise.  She  seemed 
surprised  to  find  that  the  room  was  in  darkness.  She 
struck  a  light,  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  dozen  candles 
were  flaring  round  the  walls  ;  and  then  she  went  me- 
chanically to  close  the  window.  One  side  she  had  just 
fastened  when  it  seemed  to  her  that  she  heard  the 
sound  of  voices  approaching.  She  listened,  her  head 
bent  forward  through  the  side  of  the  window  that 
remained  unclosed. 

Yes,  their  voices  were  sounding  clearly  through  the 
still  night — his  voice  and — what  trick  was  being  played 
upon  her  by  her  hearing?  Phyllis' voice?  How  could 
it  be  Phyllis'  voice  ?  Phyllis  had  returned  to  London. 
Oh,  it  was  some  trick  !  Her  nerves  were  playing  some 
trick  upon  her — they  were  out  of  order,  they  were  be- 
yond her  control.  Phyllis'  voice —  Great  Heavens  ! 
it  was  Phyllis  herself  who  was  walking  through  the 
garden  by  his  side  ! 

Ella  stood  at  the  open  side  of  the  window  staring 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  311 

out  at  them.  They  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  half  dozen 
steps  that  led  up  to  the  window.  Phyllis  laughed, — 
was  there  a  trace  of  mockery  in  her  laugh  ? — but  he 
was  silent. 

"  I  don't  wonder  at  your  fancying  that  I  am  a  ghost, 
Ella,"  cried  the  girl.  "  I  feel  that  I  deserve  to  be 
treated  as  discourteously  as  most  poor  ghosts  are 
treated  when  they  visit  their  friends.  You  never  yet 
heard  of  a  ghost  being  asked  to  stay  to  dinner,  did  you, 
Mr.  Courtland?  But  a  ghost  may  fairly  claim  to  be 
asked  to  enter  the  house  of  her  dearest  friend,  especi- 
ally after  a  double  railway  journey." 

Ella  had  not  moved  from  her  place  at  the  open 
space  of  the  window  while  Phyllis  was  speaking,  but 
the  moment  that  the  girl's  laugh  sounded,  she  too 
laughed.  She  ran  down  the  steps  and  put  her  arms 
about  Phyllis,  kissing  her  on  the  face. 

"  This  is  more  than  the  most  exacting  of  ghosts 
could  reasonably  look  for,"  cried  Phyllis.  "  Oh,  Ella ! 
I'm  so  glad  that  I  followed  my  own  impulse  and  came 
back  to  you.  I  thought  of  you  here  all  alone — how 
could  I  know  that  Mr.  Courtland  would  return  in  the 
meantime  to  complete  his  visit  ? — and  when  I  looked  out 
on  the  dust  and  the  smoke  of  the  town  and  thought  of 
this — this — this  exquisite  stillness, — you  can  just  hear 
the  water  of  the  weir, — this  garden,  this  scent  of  roses, 
but  chiefly  when  I  thought  of  you  sitting  in  your  lone- 
liness   Well,  is  it  any  wonder  that  I  am  here  now? 

— you  implored  of  me  to  stay,  you  know,  Ella." 

"  It  is  no  wonder  indeed,  being  what  you  are — a 
good  angel,  my  good  angel,  Phyllis,"  cried  the  woman. 
"  Oh,  dearest,  you  are  welcome  !  Why  did  you  leave 


312  PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA. 

me,  Phyllis?  Why  did  you  leave  me?  Oh,  the  good 
angels  can  never  be  trusted.  You  should  not  have  left 
me  to  myself,  dear.  I  am  only  a  woman.  Ah,  you 
don't  yet  know  what  a  woman  is.  That  is  the  worst 
of  angels  and  men  ;  they  don't  know  what  a  woman  is. 
Come  into  the  house,  Phyllis.  Come  in,  Herbert. 
How  did  you  manage  to  meet?  " 

"  You  know  I  went  out  to  the  garden "  said  the 

man. 

"Yes;  I  knew  that — you  left  me  alone,"  said  the 
woman,  and  she  gave  a  laugh. 

"  I  strolled  from  the  garden  to  the  road — I  had  to 
ask  the  people  at  the  Old  Bell  to  keep  a  room  for  me, 
of  course." 

"  Of  course." 

"  And  just  outside  the  inn  I  came  face  to  face  with 
Miss  Ayrton's  fly.  Miss  Ayrton  was  good  enough  to 
get  out  and  walk  with  me,  sending  the  fly  on  with  her 
maid.  I  told  the  man  to  wait  in  order  to  take  my 
portmanteau  to  the  inn.  It  must  be  at  the  hall  door 
now.  We  entered  by  the  garden  gate." 

"  Nothing  could  be  simpler,"  said  Ella.  They  had 
by  this  time  walked  up  the  steps  into  the  drawing 
room.  "  Nothing  could  be  simpler."  Then  she 
turned  to  Phyllis.  "  But  how  did  you  contrive  to 
evade  the  great  function  to-night  ?  " 
I  "  Papa  did  not  feel  very  well,"  said  Phyllis,  "  and  I 
Iknow  that  he  was  only  too  glad  of  an  excuse  to  stay 
at  home." 

"  And  you  forsook  your  sick  father  to  come  to  me  ? 
Oh,  my  dear  Phyllis,  what  have  you  done  ?  " 

"  If  you  ask  me  in  confidence  I  should  say  that  papa 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  313 

is  not  quite  so  ill  as  to  stand  in  need  of  a  nurse,"  she 
whispered.  "  Oh,  no  !  make  your  mind  easy.  I  have 
neglected  no  duty  in  coming  to  you." 

"  Except  your  duty  to  yourself ;  you  could  not 
have  had  time  to  take  any  dinner  at  home.  I  shall 
have  you  a  servants'  hall  supper  in  ten  minutes." 

"  Please  get  nothing  for  me.  I  had  a  capital  sort 
of  dinner  at  home.  But  I  should  dearly  like  a  cup 
of  tea." 

"  It  will  be  ready  for  you  the  moment  you  return 
from  taking  off  your  hat.  I'll  go  up  with  you  to  your 
room  ;  Mr.  Courtland  knows  that  even  I  make  myself 
at  home  in  this  house.  He  will  pardon  us." 

"  I  mustn't  keep  the  fly  waiting  for  my  portman- 
teau," said  Mr.  Courtland.  "  If  you  will  allow  me,  I 
shall  look  to  it  now,  and  say  good-night." 

"  What !  Oh,  you  mustn't  think  of  running  off  in 
this  way,"  said  Ella.  "  What  reason  had  you  for  re- 
turning at  all  if  you  run  off  at  this  hour  ?  " 

"  It  is  getting  quite  late.  I  mustn't  keep  the  good 
people  of  the  Old  Bell  up  on  my  account,"  said  he. 
"  Besides,  a  man  represents  a  certain  inharmonious 
element  upon  such  an  occasion  as  this.  Miss  Aryton 
returned  expecting  to  be  with  you  alone.  I  know 
the  disabilities  of  a  man  quite  well.  Yes,  I  must  say 
good-night." 

"  Nonsense  !  Pray  talk  to  him,  Phyllis,"  cried  Ella. 
"  You  may  make  him  amenable  to  reason." 

But  Phyllis  stood  mute  with  her  hand  on  the  handle 
of  the  door ;  she  only  smiled,  and  there  is  neither  rea- 
son nor  argument  in  a  smile. 

"  Good-night !  "  said  he. 


3^4  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA 

"  Oh,  well,  if  you  have  really  nothing  to  say  to 
either  of  us, — to  either  Phyllis  or  me, — you  had  better 
go,  I  suppose,"  said  Ella,  giving  him  her  hand,  but  she 
did  not  look  at  him  in  the  face  while  his  hand  was 
touching  hers. 

Curiously  enough,  neither  did  Phyllis  look  at  him  as 
was  her  wont. 

And  so  he  left  them  that  night. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

"GIVE   HIM  BACK  TO   ME — GIVE  HIM   BACK  TO   ME!" 

THEY  seemed  to  have  been  parted  for  months  in- 
stead of  hours,  so  much  had  they  to  say  to  each  other, 
and  so  rapidly  did  they  say  it.  Rapidly  ? — feverishly, 
rather.  Phyllis  had  only  to  remove  her  hat  and 
smooth  her  hair  at  places,  disordering  it  at  others,  in 
order  to  be  all  right ;  but  half  an  hour  had  gone  by 
before  they  went  downstairs,  arm  in  arm,  after  the 
manner  of  girls  who  have  been  talking  feverishly  and 
kissing  every  now  and  again. 

It  was  madness  for  Phyllis  to  think  of  tea  at  that 
hour  of  the  night,  Ella  declared  ;  but  she  knew  Phyl- 
lis' fancies  in  the  past — she  knew  that  what  would  set 
other  girls'  nerves  in  motion,  would  only  have  the 
effect  of  soothing  hers.  So  Phyllis  drank  her  tea  and 
eat  her  cake  in  the  drawing  room,  and  Ella  lay  back 
on  the  sofa  and  watched  her  with  a  curious  interest  in 
her  eyes. 

"  I  am  so  glad  that  we  are  spending  together  in  this 
way  the  last  night  of  our  delightful  week,"  said  Phyl- 
lis. "  What  a  lovely  week  it  has  been  !  and  the  charm 
of  it  is,  of  course,  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  it  has 
been  stolen  from  the  best  part  of  the  season.  In  an- 
other month  it  would  not  be  nearly  so  delightful — 
everyone  will  be  hurrying  off  to  the  river  or  else- 
where." 

315 


3*6  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  Such  a  week  is  one  of  the  incidents  that  a  person 
plans  but  that  rarely  comes  off  according  to  one's 
views,"  said  Ella.  "  I  told  you  when  I  set  my  heart 
upon  Hurley  what  my  idea  was." 

"And  you  have  certainly  realized  it  during  this 
week.  What  a  pity  it  is  that  this  is  our  last  night 
together!  " 

"  Do  you  know,  Phyllis,  the  way  you  said  that  sug- 
gested to  me  that  you  meant  '  What  a  pity  it  is  that 
Herbert  Courtland  is  not  one  of  our  party  to-night ' !  " 

Ella  was  still  lying  back  on  the  broad  pillows  of  the 
couch,  her  hands  clasped  at  the  back  of  her  head. 
She  was  still  watching  Phyllis  through  her  half-closed 
eyes. 

"  I  was  not  thinking  about  Mr.  Courtland  in  the 
least  when  I  spoke.  How  can  you  fancy  that  I  should 
be  so  insincere  ?  I  say  it  is  delightful  for  us,  you  and 
me  only,  mind,  to  be  together  to-night,  because  we  can 
say  just  whatever  occurs  to  us — I  thought  we  could, 
you  know ;  but  since  you  made  that  horrid  suggestion 
I  think  I  must  take  back  all  that  I  said.  It  is,  after 
all,  not  nearly  so  nice  to  be  alone  with  you  as  one 
would  imagine." 

"  That  was,  I'm  afraid  the  conclusion  that  Herbert 
Courtland  came  to  some  time  ago,"  said  Ella.  "  He 
was  alone  with  me  here — yes,  for  some  minutes ;  but 
he  left  me — he  left  me  and  found  you." 

"  It  was  so  funny !  "  cried  Phyllis.  "  Who  would 
have  thought  of  seeing  such  a  figure — bareheaded  and 
in  evening  dress — on  the  road  ?  I  knew  him  at  once, 
however.  And  he  was  walking  so  quickly  too — walk- 
ing as  if — as  if ~" 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  317 

"As  if  the  devil  were  behind  him — that's  how  men 
put  it,"  said  Ella.  "  It  would  never  do  for  us  to  say 
that,  of  course,  but  in  his  particular  case  we  might 
venture  on  it  for  the  sake  of  strict  accuracy ;  the  devil 
was  behind  him.  He  escaped  from  it  by  the  aid  of 
his  good  angel.  Didn't  he  call  you  his  good  angel 
once,  my  Phyllis  ?  " 

"  Yes,  he  called  me  so  once,"  said  Phyllis.  "  But 
why  should  we  talk  about  Mr.  Courtland  ?  Why 
should  we  talk  about  anybody  to-night?  Dearest 
Ella,  let  us  talk  about  ourselves.  You  are  of  more 
interest  to  me  than  anyone  in  the  world,,  and  I  know 
that  I  am  of  more  interest  to  you  than  to  anyone  else. 
Let  us  talk  about  ourselves." 

"  Certainly  we  shall  talk  about  ourselves,"  said  Ella. 
"  To  begin,  I  should  like  very  much  to  know  if  you 
were  aware  that  Herbert  had  returned  to  this  house 
after  his  day  or  two  in  town." 

Phyllis  undoubtedly  colored  before  she  said,  with  a 
laugh  : 

"  Didn't  you  promise  to  talk  solely  about  ourselves? 
I  decline  to  talk  on  any  other  topic." 

She  arose  from  where  she  had  been  sitting  before 
a  cup  of  tea  at  a  little  table  that  also  held  cake,  and 
threw  herself  back  in  a  fanciful  seat  shaped  like  a 
shell. 

"  That  being  so,  I  should  like  very  much  to  know 
how  you  learned  that  he  meant  to  return,"  pursued 
Ella. 

"  You  are  becoming  quite  horrid,  and  I  expected 
you  to  be  so  nice,"  said  Phyllis,  pouting  very  prettily. 

"  And  I  expected  you  to  confide  in  me,"  said  Ella 


31 8  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILIST1A. 

reproachfully.  "  I  have  been  watching  you  for  some 
time — not  merely  during  the  past  week,  but  long 
before;  and  I  have  seen — what  I  have  seen.  He 
could  not  have  told  you  that  he  meant  to  return — you 
must  have  crossed  each  other  in  the  trains.  How  did 
you  know,  my  dear  girl  ?  Let  me  coax  it  out  of  you." 

Phyllis  made  no  answer  for  some  time  ;  she  was  ex- 
amining, with  a  newly  acquired,  but  very  intense  inter- 
est, the  texture  of  the  sheen  of  the  blouse  which  she 
was  wearing.  At  last  she  raised  her  eyes,  and  saw 
how  Ella  was  looking  at  her.  Then  she  said  slowly : 

"  I  saw  him  in  the  train  that  was  leaving  when  our 
train  arrived." 

"  Heavens  !  that  is  a  confession  !  "  cried  Ella  quite 
merrily. 

"  You  forced  it  from  me,"  said  Phyllis.  "  But  why 
should  there  be  any  mystery  between  us?  I'm  sure  I 
may  tell  you  all  the  secrets  of  my  life.  Such  as  they 
are,  you  know  them  already." 

"They  are  safe  in  my  keeping.  My  dear  Phyllis, 
don't  you  know  that  it  has  always  been  my  dearest 
hope  to  see  you  and  Herbert  Courtland — well,  inter- 
ested in  each  other  ?  I  saw  that  he  was  interested  in 
you  long  ago  ;  but  I  wasn't  sure  of  you.  That  is  just 
why  I  was  so  anxious  for  you  to  come  down  here  for 
the  week  we  have  just  passed.  I  wanted  to  bring  you 
both  together.  I  Wanted  to  see  you  in  love  with  each 
other ;  I  wanted  to  see  you  both  married." 

"  Ella— Ella  !  " 

"  I  wanted  it,  I  tell  you,  not  because  I  loved  you, 
though  you  know  that  I  love  you  better  than  anyone 
in  the  world." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  319 

"  Dearest  Ella  !  " 

"  Not  because  I  knew  that  you  and  he  would  be 
happy,  but  because  I  wished  to  snatch  my  own  soul 
from  perdition.  I  think  it  is  safe  now — but  oh,  my 
God  !  it  is  like  the  souls  of  many  other  mortals — saved 
in  spite  of  myself  !  Phyllis,  you  have  been  my  salva- 
tion. You  are  a  girl ;  you  cannot  understand  how 
near  a  woman  may  go  to  the  bottomless  pit  through 
love  of  a  man.  You  fancy  that  love  lifts  one  to  the 
heaven  of  heavens  ;  that  it  means  purity — self-sacri- 
fice. Well,  there  is  a  love  that  means  purity  ;  and 
there  is  a  love  that  means  self-sacrifice.  Self-sacrifice  : 
that  is,  that  a  woman  is  ready  to  sacrifice  herself — her 
life — her  soul — for  the  man  whom  she  loves.  I  tell 
you — I,  who  know  the  truth — I,  who  have  been  at  the 
brink.  It  is  not  that  the  pit  is  dear  to  us  ;  it  is  that  the 
man  is  dear  to  us,  and  we  must  go  with  him, — wher- 
ever he  goes, — even  down  into  hell  itself  with  him." 

"  Oh,  Ella,  Ella  !  this  is  the  love  of  the  satyr.  It  is 
not  the  love  of  the  one  who  is  made  in  the  image  of 
God." 

"  Let  it  be  what  it  is  ;  it  is  a  power  that  has  to  be 
reckoned  upon  so  long  as  we  remain  creatures  of  the 
earth,  earthy." 

"  It  is  a  thing  that  we  should  beat  into  the  earth 
from  which  it  came."  The  girl  had  sprung  to  her 
feet,  and  was  speaking  with  white  face  and  clenched 
hands.  "  Down  into  the  earth  " — she  stamped  upon 
the  floor — "  even  if  we  have  to  throw  our  bodies  into 
the  grave  into  which  we  trample  it.  Woman,  I  tell 
you  that  the  other  love, — the  love  which  is  the 
truth, — is  stronger  than  the  love  of  the  satyr." 


320  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

11  Is  it  ?  is  it,  Phyllis  ?  Yes,  sometimes.  Yes  ;  it 
was  a  word  that  you  spoke  in  his  hearing  that  saved 
him — him — Herbert — and  that  saved  me  that  night 
when  I  came  to  you — when  I  waited  for  you — you  did 
not  know  anything  of  why  I  came.  I  will  tell  you 
now " 

"  No,  no,  no  !  Oh,  Ella  !  for  God's  sake,  tell  me 
nothing !  I  think  I  know  all  that  I  want  to  know  ; 
and  I  know  that  you  had  strength  given  to  you  by 
God  to  come  to  me  that  night.  I  had  not  to  go  to 
you.  But  I  have  come  to  you  to-night.  We  are  to- 
gether, you  and  I ;  and  we  are  the  same  as  when  we 
were  girls  together — oh,  just  the  same  !  Who  shall 
come  between  us,  Ella?" 

"  Who  ?  Who  ?  You  came  here  to  save  me.  I 
knew  it.  But  you  had  saved  me  before  you  came. 
Phyllis,  in  this  very  room  I  was  alone  with  him.  I 
was  mad — mad  with  jealousy  at  the  thought  of  losing 
him — though  I  knew  that  I  had  lost  him — I  was  mad  ! 
The  passion  breathed  from  the  roses — the  twilight  full 
of  the  memories  of  the  spring  we  spent  together  in 
Italy — all  took  possession  of  my  heart — my  soul.  I 
whispered  to  him  to  come  to  me — to  come  to  me. 
And  he  came." 

The  cry  the  girl  gave,  as  she  covered  her  face  with 
her  hands  and  dropped  back  into  her  chair,  was  very 
pitiful. 

"  He  came  to  me — but  only  one  step — one  little 
step,  Phyllis ;  then  there  came  before  his  eyes  a  vision 
of  your  face — he  felt  your  hand — cool  as  a  lily — upon 
his  wrist — he  heard  your  voice  speaking  into  his  ear ; 
he  turned  and  fled — fled  through  that  window — fled 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  321 

from  the  demon  that   had   taken   possession  of  this 
room — I  said  so  to  you." 

"  Thank  God— oh,  Ella,  thank  God  !  " 

"That  is  my  cry — thank  God — thank  God;  and 
yet — and  yet — God  help  me !  I  feel  ready  to  throw 
myself  at  your  feet  and  say  '  Give  him  back  to  me ! 
Give  him  back  to  me ! ' ' 

She  had  stood  with  her  hands  clasped  above  her 
head  at  her  first  utterance  of  that  imploration — "  Give 
him  back  to  me ! "  Then  she  threw  herself  on  her 
knees,  and  passionately  caught  both  the  girl's  hands 
in  her  own,  crying,  "  Give  him  back  to  me  !  " 

Phyllis  flung  her  arms  about  her  neck,  and  bowed 
her  own  head  down  to  the  shoulder  of  the  woman 
whom  she  loved  and  pitied. 

And  then 

Then  through  the  silence  of  the  house — the  hour 
was  almost  midnight — there  sounded  the  loud  and 
continuous  ringing  of  a  bell. 

It  was  only  the  usual  visitors'  bell  of  the  house ; 
but  its  effect  at  that  hour  was  startling — shocking ! 

The  two  women  were  on  their  feet,  waiting  in  silence, 
but  with  wildly  beating  hearts,  for  what  was  coming — 
they  felt  that  something  terrible  was  coming.  The 
bell  had  an  ominous  jangle.  They  heard  the  footsteps 
of  the  one  servant  who  remained  up  to  put  out  the 
lights,  going  to  answer  the  summons  of  the  bell — they 
heard  a  man's  voice  speaking  in  a  low  tone  in  the  hall — 
they  heard  a  man's  steps  approach  the  door  of  their 
room.  The  door  opened,  and  Mr.  Ayrton  appeared 
before  them. 

He  closed  the  door  slowly,  and  stood  there  staring 


322  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

not  at  his  daughter,  but  at  Ella  Linton.  On  his 
face  was  an  expression  that  Phyllis  had  never  seen 
on  it  before.  It  frightened  her.  She  could  not 
speak. 

He  stood  there,  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  Ella 
Linton — rigid — silent  as  a  figure  that  symbolizes 
Death. 

The  silence  became  appalling. 

"  For  God's  sake  speak,  if  you  are  living !  "  cried  Ella 
in  a  whisper  tremulous  with  terror. 

He  did  not  speak — he  stood  there,  staring  at  her. 

"  What  does  he  mean  ?  What  does  he  mean  ?  "  said 
the  woman,  after  another  dreadful  pause.  "  Why  does 

he  stand  there,  Phyllis,  staring  at  me  ?  Why Oh, 

my  God  !  I  see  it — I  see  it  on  his  face — my  husband — 
Stephen — dead — he  is  dead — you  came  to  bring  the 
news  to  me.  Look,  Phyllis,  he  cannot  say  '  No  ' — he 
would  say  '  No '  unless  I  had  guessed  the  truth — he 
would  say  it — he  would  have  some  pity.  Is  it  the 
truth?  Man — speak — say  yes,  or  no — for  God's 
sake  !  for  God's  sake  !  " 

She  had  taken  half  a  dozen  rapid  steps  to  him  and 
grasped  him  by  the  arm,  gazing  into  his  face. 

He  bowed  his  head. 

She  flung  his  arm  from  her,  and  burst  into  a  laugh. 

"Ah,  Phyllis!  I  see  it  all  now.  He  was  the  man  I 
loved — I  know  it  now — he  was  the  man  I  loved.  It 
was  for  him  I  cried  out  just  now — '  Give  him  back  to 
me — give  him  back  to  me  ! ' ' 

The  wild  shriek  with  which  she  cried  the  words  the 
second  time  rang  through  the  house.  She  fell  upon 
her  knees,  clutching  at  Phyllis'  hand  as  before,  and 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  323 

then,  making  a  motion  as  if  about  to  rise,  she  fell  back 
and  lay  with  her  white  face  turned  to  the  ceiling,  her 
white  arms  stretched  limply  out  on  each  side  of  her 
like  the  arms  of  a  crucified  woman. 
Servants  came  with  restoratives. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

"  IF  GOD  WOULD   ONLY  GIVE  ME  ANOTHER  CHANCE  !  " 

"  POOR  creature  !  Poor  creature !  "  said  Mr.  Ayrton. 
He  had  just  returned  from  the  room  to  which  they 
had  carried  Ella.  Phyllis  was  lying  on  the  sofa  with 
her  face  down  to  the  pillow.  "  Poor  creature !  No 
one  could  have  had  any  idea  that  she  was  so  attached 
to  him !  She  will  be  one  of  the  richest  women  in 
England.  He  fell  down  in  the  club  between  nine  and 
ten.  His  heart.  Sir  Joseph  was  not  surprised.  He 
said  he  had  told  him  a  short  time  ago  that  he  had  not 
six  months  to  live.  He  cannot  have  let  his  wife  know. 
Well,  well,  perhaps  it  was  for  the  best.  His  man 
came  to  me  in  a  terrible  state.  How  was  it  to  be 
broken  to  her?  I  just  managed  to  catch  the  last 
train.  He  must  have  been  worth  over  a  million. 
She  will  be  one  of  the  richest  women  in  England. 
Even  in  America  a'  woman  with  three-quarters  of  a 
million  is  reckoned  moderately  well  off.  Poor  crea- 
ture !  Ah  !  the  shorn  lamb ! — the  wind  is  tempered. 

'  In  the  midst  of  life '  Dear  Phyllis !  you  must  not 

allow  yourself  to  break  down.  Your  sympathetic 
nature  is  hard  to  control,  I  know,  but  still — oh,  my 
child  ! " 

But  Phyllis  refused  to  be  comforted.  She  lay  sob- 
bing on  the  pillow,  and  when  her  father  put  his  arm 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  325 

about  her  and  raised  her,  she  put  her  head  on  his 
shoulder,  crying : 

"  He  is  gone  from  me  forever — he  is  gone  from 
me  forever  !  Oh,  I  am  the  crudest  woman  on  earth ! 
It  is  not  for  her  terrible  blow  that  I  am  crying,  it 
is  because  I  have  lost  him — I  see  it — I  have  lost 
him ! " 

Her  father  became  frightened.  What  in  the  world 
could  she  mean  by  talking  about  the  man  being  gone 
from  her?  He  had  never  heard  of  a  woman's  sym- 
pathy extending  to  such  limits  as  caused  her  to  feel 
a  personal  deprivation  when  death  had  taken  another 
woman's  husband. 

"Oh,  I  am  selfish  —  cruel  —  heartless!"  sobbed 
Phyllis.  "  I  thought  of  myself,  not  of  her.  He  is 
hers ;  he  will  be  given  back  to  her  as  she  prayed — she 
prayed  so  to  me  before  you  appeared  at  the  door, 
papa.  '  Give  him  back  to  me  !  Give  him  back  to 
me  ! '  that  was  her  prayer." 

"  My  dearest  child,  you  must  not  talk  that  way," 
said  the  father.  "  Come,  Phyllis,  your  strength  has 
been  overtaxed.  You  must  go  to  bed  and  try  to 
sleep." 

She  still  moaned  about  her  cruelty — her  selfishness, 
until  the  doctor  who  had  been  sent  for  and  had  been 
with  Ella  in  her  room,  appeared  in  order  to  let  them 
know  that  Mrs.  Linton  had  regained  consciousness. 
The  blow  had,  of  course,  been  a  terrible  one  :  but  she 
was  young,  and  Nature  would  soon  reassert  herself,  he 
declared,  whatever  he  meant  by  that.  He  thought 
it  strange,  he  said,  that  Mrs.  Linton  had  not  been 
aware  of  her  husband's  weakness.  To  him,  the  physi- 


326  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

cian,  the  condition  of  the  unfortunate  gentleman  had 
been  apparent  from  the  first  moment  he  had  seen  him. 
He  had  expected  to  hear  of  his  death  any  day.  He 
concluded  by  advising  Phyllis  to  go  to  bed  and  have 
as  long  a  sleep  as  possible.  He  would  return  in 
the  morning  and  see  if  Mrs.  Linton  might  travel  to 
London. 

Phyllis  went  to  her  room,  and  her  father  went  to 
the  one  which  had  been  prepared  for  him.  For  a 
minute  or  two  he  remained  thoughtful.  What  could 
his  daughter  have  meant  by  those  self-accusations? 
After  a  short  time,  however,  he  smiled.  The  poor 
thing  had  been  upset  by  the  shocking  news  of  the 
death  of  the  husband  of  her  dearest  friend.  She  was 
sympathetic  to  quite  a  phenomenal  degree.  That 
sympathy  which  felt  her  friend's  loss  as  though  it 
were  wholly  her  own  was  certainly  not  to  be  met  with 
every  day. 

In  the  morning  Phyllis  showed  traces  of  having 
spent  a  bad  night.  But  she  spoke  rationally  and  not 
in  the  wild  way  in  which  she  had  spoken  before  retir- 
ing, and  her  father  felt  that  there  was  no  need  for  him 
to  be  uneasy  in  regard  to  her  condition.  He  allowed 
her  to  go  to  the  side  of  her  friend,  Ella,  and  as  he 
was  leaving  them  together  in  each  other's  arms,  he 
heard  Ella  say : 

"  Ah,  Phyllis,  I  know  it  now.  He  was  the  man 
who  had  all  my  love — all — all !  Ah,  if  God  would 
only  give  me  another  chance — one  more  chance ! " 

Mr.  Ayrton  had  heard  that  passionate  appeal  for 
another  chance  upon  more  than  one  previous  occasion. 
He  had  heard  the  husband  who  had  tortured  his  wife 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  327 

to  death  make  a  passionate  appeal  to  God  to  give  him 
another  chance.  He  knew  that  God  had  never  given 
him  another  chance  with  the  same  wife  ;  but  God  had 
given  him  another  wife  in  the  course  of  time — a  wife 
who  was  not  made  on  the  spiritual  lines  of  those  who 
die  by  torture  ;  a  wife  who  was  able  to  formulate  a 
list  of  her  own  rights  and  the  rights  of  her  sisters,  and 
who  possessed  a  Will. 

The  man  who  wanted  another  chance  had  no  chance 
with  such  a  woman. 

He  had  heard  the  wife,  who  had  deserted  her  hus- 
band in  favor  of  the  teetotal  platform,  cry  out  for 
another  chance,  when  her  husband  had  died  away 
from  her.  But  God  had  compassion  upon  the  hus- 
band. She  did  not  get  him  back. 

He  pitied  with  all  his  heart  the  poor  woman  who 
would  be  one  of  the  richest  women  in  England  in  the 
course  of  a  day  or  two,  and  he  said  so  to  Mr.  Courtland 
when  he  called  early  in  the  morning.  Mr.  Courtland 
did  not  remain  for  long  in  the  house.  It  might  have 
been  assumed  that  so  intimate  a  friend  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Linton's  would  be  an  acceptable  visitor  to  the 
widow ;  but  Mr.  Courtland  knew  better.  He  hurried 
away  to  town  without  even  asking  to  see  her.  He 
only  begged  of  Mr.  Ayrton  to  let  him  know  if  he 
could  be  of  any  use  in  town — there  were  details — 
ghastly  ;  but  he  would  take  care  that  there  was  no 
inquest. 

Phyllis  went  up  to  town  with  poor  Ella,  and  re- 
mained by  her  side  in  that  darkened  house  through 
all  the  terrible  days  that  followed.  Mr.  Linton's 
death  had  an  appreciable  influence  upon  the  quarter's 


328  PHYLLIS  Of  PHILISTIA. 

revenue  of  the  country.  The  probate  duty  paid  by 
the  executors  was  a  large  fortune  in  itself,  and  Ella 
was,  as  Mr.  Ayrton  had  predicted  she  would  be,  one 
of  the  richest  women  in  England.  The  hundred 
thousand  pounds  bequeathed  to  some  unostenta- 
tious charities — charities  that  existed  for  the  cause 
of  charity,  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  official  staff- 
made  no  difference  worth  speaking  of  in  the  position  of 
Mrs.  Linton  as  one  of  the  richest  women  in  England. 

But  the  codicil  to  the  will  which  surprised  most 
people  was  that  which  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mrs. 
Linton  and  the  Rev.  George  Holland  as  joint  trustees 
the  sum  of  sixty  thousand  pounds,  for  the  building 
and  endowment  of  a  church,  the  character  and  aims 
of  which  would  be  in  sympathy  with  the  principles 
recently  formulated  by  the  Rev.  George  Holland  in 
his  book  entitled  "  Revised  Versions,"  and  in  his 
magazine  article  entitled  "  The  Enemy  to  Chris- 
tianity," the  details  to  be  decided  by  the  Rev. 
George  Holland  and  Mrs.  Linton  as  joint  trustees. 

The  codicil  was,  of  course,  a  very  recent  one ;  but 
it  was  executed  in  proper  form  ;  it  required  two  pages 
of  engrossing  to  make  the  testator's  desires  plain  to 
every  intelligence  that  had  received  a  thorough 
training  in  legal  technicalities.  It  was  susceptible 
of  a  good  deal  of  interpretation  to  an  ordinary 
intelligence. 

When  it  was  explained  to  Mrs.  Linton,  she  also  was 
at  first  a  good  deal  surprised.  It  read  very  like  a 
jest  of  some  subtlety :  for  she  had  no  idea  that  her 
husband  had  the  slightest  feeling  one  way  or  another 
on  the  subject  of  the  development  of  one  Church  or 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  329 

another ;  and  as  for  the  establishment  of  an  entirely 
new  Church — yes,  it  struck  her  at  first  that  her  solic- 
itor was  making  a  bold  and  certainly  quite  an  unusual 
attempt  to  cheer  her  up  in  her  bereavement  by  bring- 
ing under  her  notice  a  jest  of  the  order  pachydermato. 

But  soon  it  dawned  upon  her  that  her  husband 
meant  a  good  deal  by  this  codicil  of  his. 

"  I  am  getting  to  understand  him  better  every  day," 
she  said  to  Phyllis.  "  He  knew  that  I  loved  him  and 
him  only.  He  has  given  me  this  work  to  do,  and 
with  God's  help  I  will  do  it  thoroughly.  You  did  not 
believe  in  the  value  of  George  Holland's  doctrines. 
Neither  did  I  :  I  never  thought  about  them.  I  will 
accept  my  husband's  judgment  regarding  them,  and 
perhaps  I  may  think  about  them  later  on.  Our  Church 
will  be  the  most  potent  influence  for  good  that  the 
century  has  yet  seen.  Yes,  I  will  throw  myself  heart 
and  soul  into  the  work.  After  all,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  Church  has  never  done  its  duty  as  a  Church." 

Phyllis  said  nothing. 

But  the  Rev.  George  Holland  had  a  good  deal  to 
say  on  the  subject  of  the  codicil,  when  he  was  alone 
with  Mrs.  Linton,  a  few  days  later.  He  had  by  no 
means  made  up  his  mind  to  sever  his  connection  with 
the  dear  old  mother  Church,  he  said.  He  could  not 
see  that  there  was  any  need  for  his  taking  so  serious  a 
step — an  irrevocable  step.  It  was  his  feeling  at  that 
moment,  he  declared,  that  he  might  be  able  to  effect 
the  object  of  his  life — which  was,  of  course,  the  reform 
of  the  Church — better  by  remaining  within  its  walls 
than  by  severing  himself  from  it.  He  must  take  time 
to  consider  his  position. 


33°  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

He  left  Mrs.  Linton  greatly  disappointed.  It  had 
been  her  belief  that  Mr.  Holland  would  jump  at  the 
chance — that  was  the  phrase  which  she  employed  in 
expressing  her  disappointment  to  Phyllis — of  becom- 
ing the  founder  of  a  brand-new  religion. 

She  was  greatly  disappointed  in  Mr.  Holland.  If 
Buddha,  or  Edward  Irving,  or  some  of  the  other 
founders  of  new  religions  had  had  such  a  chance 
offered  to  them  in  early  life,  would  they  not  have 
embraced  it  eagerly?  she  asked. 

And  it  was  to  be  such  a  striking  Church  !  She  had 
made  up  her  mind  to  that.  It  was  to  be  a  lasting 
memorial  to  the  largeness  of  soul  of  her  husband — to 
his  appreciation  of  the  requirements  of  the  thinking 
men  and  women  of  the  age.  She  had  made  up  her 
mind  already  as  to  the  character  of  the  painted  win- 
dows. The  church  would  itself,  of  course,  be  the 
purest  Gothic.  As  for  the  services,  she  rather  thought 
that  the  simplicity  of  the  Early  Church  might  be 
effectively  "combined  with  some  of  the  most  striking 
elements  of  Modern  Ritualism.  However,  that  would 
have  to  be  decided  later  on. 

But  when  the  bishop  heard  of  the  codicil  he  had 
another  interview  with  George  Holland,  and  imparted 
to  that  young  cleric  his  opinion  that  he  should  avail 
himself  of  the  opportunity  offered  to  him  of  trying 
what  would  undoubtedly  be  a  most  interesting  experi- 
ment, and  one  to  the  carrying  out  of  which  all  true 
churchmen  would  look  forward  most  hopefully.  Who 
could  say,  he  inquired,  if  the  larger  freedom  which 
would  be  enjpyed  by  an  earnest,  sincere,  and  highly 
intellectual  clergyman,  not  in  immediate  contact  with 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  331 

the  Establishment,  might  not  avail  him  to  perfect  such 
a  scheme  of  reform  as  would  eventually  be  adopted 
by  the  Church  ? 

That  interview  was  very  helpful  to  George  Holland 
in  making  up  his  mind  on  the  subject  of  the  new 
Church.  He  resigned  his  pastorate,  greatly  to  the 
regret  of  the  churchwardens ;  though  no  expression  of 
such  regret  was  ever  heard  from  the  bishop. 

But  then  a  bishop  is  supposed  to  have  his  feelings 
thoroughly  under  control. 

This  happened  three  weeks  after  the  death  of 
Stephen  Linton,  and  during  these  weeks  Herbert 
Courtland  had  never  once  asked  to  see  Ella  Linton. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

"  MARRIAGE    IS  THE    PICTURESQUE    GATEWAY  LEAD- 
ING TO  A   COMMONPLACE   ESTATE." 

So  soon  as  Phyllis  Ayrton  had  returned  home,  she 
got  a  letter  from  Herbert  Courtland,  asking  her  if  she 
would  be  good  enough  to  grant  him  an  interview. 
She  replied  at  once  that  it  would  please  her  very 
much  to  see  him  on  the  following  afternoon — she  was 
going  to  Scotland  with  her  father  in  a  week,  if  Parlia- 
ment had  risen  by  that  time. 

He  came  to  her.  She  was  alone  in  the  drawing 
room  where  she  had  always  received  him  previously. 

The  servant  had  scarcely  left  the  room  before  he 
had  told  her  he  had  come  to  tell  her  that  he  loved  her 
— to  ask  her  if  he  might  hope  to  have  some  of  her  love 
in  return. 

He  had  not  seated  himself,  nor  had  she.  They 
remained  standing  together  in  the  middle  of  the  room. 
He  had  not  even  retained  her  hand. 

"  Why  have  you  come  to  me — to  me?  "  she  asked 
him.  Her  face  was  pale  and  her  lips,  when  he  had 
been  speaking  to  her,  were  firmly  set. 

"  I  have  come  to  you,  not  because  I  am  worthy  of 
the  priceless  gift  of  your  love,"  said  he,  "but  because 
you  have  taught  me  not  merely  to  love  you — you 
have  taught  me  what  love  itself  is.  You  have  saved 
my  soul." 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  333 

"  No,  no !  do  not  say  that ;  it  pains  me,"  she 
cried. 

"  I  cannot  but  say  it ;  it  is  the  truth.  You  have 
saved  me  from  a  degradation  such  as  you  could  not 
understand.  Great  God  !  how  should  I  feel  to-day  if 
you  had  not  come  forward  to  save  me  ?  " 

He  walked  away  from  her.  He  stood  with  his 
back  turned  to  her,  looking  out  of  the  window. 

She  remained  where  he  had  left  her.  She  did  not 
speak.  Why  should  she  speak  ? 

He  suddenly  faced  her  once  again.  The  expression 
upon  his  face  astonished  her.  She  had  never  before 
seen  a  man  so  completely  in  the  power  of  a  strong 
emotion.  She  saw  him  making  the  attempt  to  speak, 
but  not  succeeding  for  some  time.  Her  heart  was  full 
of  pity  for  him. 

"  You — you  cannot  understand,"  he  managed  to  say. 
"  You  cannot  understand,  and  I  cannot,  I  dare  not, 
try  to  explain  anything  of  the  peril  from  which  you 
snatched  me.  You  know  nothing  of  the  baseness, 
the  cruelty,  of  a  man  who  allows  himself  to  be  swayed 
by  his  own  passions.  But  you  saved  me — you  saved 
me !  " 

"  I  thank  God  for  that,"  she  said  slowly.  "  But  you 
must  not  come  to  me  to  ask  me  for  my  love.  It  is 
not  to  me  you  should  come.  It  is  to  her  who  was 
ready  to  sacrifice  everything  for  you.  You  must  go  to 
her  when  the  time  comes,  not  now — she  has  not  re- 
covered from  her  shock." 

"  You  know — she  has  told  you  ?  " 

"  I  knew  all  that  terrible  story — that  pitiful  story — 
before  I  heard  it  from  her  lips." 


334  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  And  yet — yet — you  could  speak  to  me — you  could 
be  with  me  day  after  day?" 

"  Oh,  I  know  what  you  would  say !  You  would  say 
that  I  led  you  on — that  I  gave  you  to  believe  that  I 
loved  you.  That  is  what  you  would  say,  and  it  would 
be  the  truth.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  lead  you  on  ;  I 
gave  you  to  understand  that  I  cared  for  you.  But  I 
confess  to  you  now  that  I  did  so  because  I  hoped  to 
save  her.  You  see  it  was  a  plot  on  my  part — the  plot 
of  one  woman  anxious  to  save  her  sister  from  destruc- 
tion. I  succeeded.  Thank  God  for  that — thank  God 
for  that !  " 

"  You  succeeded — you  succeeded  indeed."  He 
spoke  slowly  and  in  a  low  tone,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  her 
burning  face.  "  Yes,  you  led  me  on — you  led  me  from 
earth  to  heaven.  You  saved  her — you  saved  me. 
That  is  why  I  am  here  to-day." 

"  Oh,  it  is  not  here  you  should  be,  Mr.  Courtland." 
She  had  turned  quickly  away  from  him  with  a  gesture 
of  impatience  and  had  walked  to  the  other  end  of  the 
room.  There  was  more  than  a  suspicion  of  indigna- 
tion in  her  voice.  "  You  should  be  with  the  woman 
whom  you  loved ;  the  woman  who  showed  you  how 
she  loved  you  ;  the  woman  who  was  ready  to  give  up 
everything — honor — husband — God — for  you.  Go  to 
her — to  her — when  the  numbness  has  passed  away 
from  her,  and  there  is  no  barrier  between  you  and  her. 
That  is  all  I  have  to  say  to  you,  Mr.  Courtland." 

"  Is  it  indeed  all,  Phyllis  ?  "  he  said.  "  But  you  will 
let  me  speak  to  you.  You  will  let  me  ask  if  Ella  alone 
was  ready  to  sacrifice  herself  ?  You  say  that  you  led 
me  to  love  you  in  order  to  save  her.  How  did  you 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  335 

lead  me  on?  By  giving  me  to  understand  that  you 
were  not  indifferent  to  me — that  you  had  some  love 
for  me.  Let  me  ask  you  if  you  were  acting  a  lie  at 
that  time  ?  " 

"  I  wanted  to  save  her." 

"  And  you  succeeded.     Were  you  acting  a  lie  ?  " 

She  was  silent. 

"You  were  willing  to  save  her?"  he  continued. 
"How  did  you  mean  to  save  her?  Were  you  pre- 
pared to  go  the  length  of  marrying  me  when  I  had  been 
led  on  to  that  point  by  you  ?  Answer  me,  Phyllis." 

"  I  will  not  answer  you,  Mr.  Courtland — you  have  no 
right  to  ask  me  to  answer  you.  One  terrible  moment 
has  changed  all  the  conditions  under  which  we  were 
living.  If  she  had  been  free, — as  she  is  now, — do  you 
fancy  for  a  moment  that  I  should  have  come  between 
you — that  I  should  have  tried  to  lead  you  away  from 
her  ?  Well,  then,  surely  you  must  see  as  clearly  as  I 
do  at  the  present  moment  that  now  our  relative  posi- 
tions are  the  same  as  they  would  have  been  some 
months  ago,  if  Ella  had  been  free — if  she  could  have 
loved  you  without  being  guilty  of  a  crime  ?  Oh,  Mr. 
Courtland,  do  not  ask  me  to  humiliate  myself  further. 
Please  go  away.  Ah,  cannot  you  see  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  me  to  act  now  as  I  might  have  acted 
before  ?  Cannot  you  see  that  I  am  not  a  woman  who 
would  be  ready  to  steal  happiness  for  myself  from  my 
dearest  friend  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  am  beginning  to  see  what  sort  of  woman 
you  are — what  sort  of  a  being  a  woman  may  be.  You 
love  me,  Phyllis,  and  yet  you  will  send  me  away  from 
you  lest  you  should  do  Ella  a  wrong?" 


336  PHYLLIS  OF  PHIUSTIA. 

"  I  implore  of  you  to  go  away  from  me,  because  if 
Ella  had  been  free  a  month  ago  as  she  is  to-day,  she 
would  have  married  you." 

"  But  she  fancied  that  she  loved  me  a  month  ago. 
She  knows  that  she  does  not  love  me  now.  You  love 
me — you,  Phyllis,  my  love,  my  beloved  ;  you  dare  not 
say  that  when  you  led  me  to  love  you,  you  were  not 
led  unthinkingly  to  love  me  yourself.  Will  you  deny 
that,  my  darling?" 

He  had  strode  passionately  up  to  her,  and  before 
she  could  resist  he  had  put  his  arms  about  her  and 
was  kissing  her  on  the  face.  For  a  moment  only  she 
resisted,  then  she  submitted  to  his  kisses. 

"  You  are  mine — mine — mine  !  "  he  whispered,  and 
she  knew  that  she  was.  She  now  knew  how  to  account 
for  the  brilliant  successes  of  the  man  in  places  where 
every  other  civilized  man  had  perished.  He  was  a 
master  of  men.  "  You  love  me,  darling,  and  I  love 
you.  What  shall  separate  us?" 

With  a  little  cry  she  freed  herself. 

"  You  have  said  the  truth  !  "  she  cried  ;  "  the  bitter 
truth.  I  love  you !  I  love  you  !  I  love  you  !  You 
are  my  love,  my  darling,  my  king  forever.  But  I  tell 
you  to  go  from  me.  I  tell  you  that  I  shall  never  steal 
from  any  sister  what  is  hers  by  right.  I  would  have 
sacrificed  myself — I  did  not  love  you  then — to  keep 
you  from  her;  I  am  now  ready  to  sacrifice  myself— 
now  that  I  love  you — to  give  you  to  her.  Ah,  my 
love,  my  own  dear  love,  you  know  me,  and  you  know 
that  I  should  hate  myself — that  I  should  hate  you, 
too,  if  I  were  to  marry  you,  now  that  she  is  free.  Go, 
my  beloved — go  !  " 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  337 

He  looked  at  her  face  made  beautiful  with  tears. 
"  Let  me  plead  with  you,  Phyllis.  Let  me  say " 

"Oh,  go!  go!  go!" 

He  put  out  his  hand  to  her. 

"  I  am  going !  "  he  said.  "  I  am  leaving  England, 
but  from  day^to  day  I  shall  let  you  know  where  I  am, 
so  that  you  can  send  to  me  when  you  want  me  to 
return  to  you.  Write  on  a  paper  '  Come  to  me,'  and  I 
will  come,  though  years  should  pass  before  I  read 
those  words.  I  deserve  to  suffer,  as  I  know  I  shall 
suffer." 

He  held  out  his  hand.  She  took  it.  Her  tears  fell 
upon  it.  She  did  not  speak  as  he  went  to  the  door. 
Then  she  gave  a  cry  like  the  cry  of  a  wounded  animal. 
She  held  out  her  hands  to  him. 

"  Not  yet !     Not  yet !  "  she  said. 

She  flung  herself  into  his  arms,  kissing  him  and  kiss- 
ing him,  holding  him  to  her  with  her  arms  about  his 
neck. 

"  Good-by  !  Good-by,  my  darling,  my  best  beloved. 
Oh,  go !  Go,  Herbert,  before  I  die  in  your  arms. 
Go!" 

She  was  lying  along  the  floor  with  her  head  on  the 
sofa. 

He  was  gone. 

She  looked  wildly  around  the  room,  wiping  the 
tears  from  her  eyes.  She  sprang  to  her  feet, 
crying  : 

"  Come  back !  Come  back  to  me,  my  beloved  !  Oh, 
I  was  a  fool !  Such  a  fool  as  women  are  when  they 
think  of  such  things  as  heaven  and  truth  and  right ! 
A  fool !  A  fool !  " 


338  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

An  hour  afterward  Ella  called  to  say  good-by  to 
her.  She  was  going  to  Switzerland  first,  she  said,  to 
a  quiet  spot  that  she  knew,  where  she  might  think'out 
some  of  the  details  of  the  Church.  Mr.  Holland  would 
meet  her  in  Italy  in  the  winter  to  consider  some  of  the 
architectural  details. 

When  the  hour  of  her  departure  was  at  hand  she 
referred  to  another  matter — a  matter  on  which  she 
spoke  much  more  seriously  than  she  had  yet  spoken 
on  the  subject  of  the  Church. 

"  I  could  not  go,  my  dear  Phyllis,"  said  she,  "  without 
telling  you  that  I  know  Herbert  Courtland  will  come 
to  you." 

"  No  !  "  said  Phyllis.  "  He  will  not  come  to  me.  He 
has  been  with  me.  He  is  now  gone." 

"  Gone  ?  That  would  be  impossible  !  "  cried  Ella. 
"You  would  not  send  him  away.  He  told  you  that  he 
loved  you." 

"  Yes,  he  told  me  that." 

"And  yet  you  sent  him  away?  Oh,  Phyllis,  you 
would  not  break  my  heart.  I  know  that  you  love 
him." 

"Do  I?" 

"  You  do  love  him.  Oh,  my  Phyllis,  I  told  him 
months  ago  that  it  was  the  dearest  wish  of  my  heart 
to  see  you  married  to  him.  At  that  time  he  laughed. 
Oh,  it  is  horrible  to  me  to  recall  now  how  he  laughed. 
Shall  I  ever  forget  that  terrible  dream  ?  But  now  he 
loves  you.  I  know  it.-  What!  you  think  him  un- 
worthy of  you  because  of — of  that  dream  which  was 
upon  us  ?  Phyllis,  don't  forget  that  he  fought  with  the 
sin  and  overcame  it.  How  ?  Ah  !  you  know  how.  He 


PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA.  339 

overcame  the  passion  that  is  of  earth  by  the  love  that 
is  of  heaven.  It  was  his  pure  love  for  you  that  gave 
him  the  victory.  Why  should  you  send  him  away?" 

"  He  knows.     He  understands.     He  is  gone." 

"  But  I  do  not  understand." 

She  held  Phyllis'  hand  and  looked  into  her  face. 
She  gave  a  sudden  start — a  little  start. 

"  Oh,  surely,  my  Phyllis,  you  don't  think  that  I — I — 
•Oh,  no  !  you  cannot  think  that  of  me.  Oh,  my  darling, 
if  you  should  be  so  foolish  as  to  think  that  I — that  I 
still—  Ah,  I  cannot  speak  about  it.  Listen  to  me, 
Phyllis  :  I  tell  you  that  as  he  conquered  himself  by  the 
love  which  is  of  heaven,  so  have  I  conquered  by  the 
same  Divine  Power.  The  love  which  is  in  heaven — 
the  love  which  is  mine — has  given  me  the  victory  also. 
Dear  Phyllis,  that  man  is  nothing  to  me  to-day.  I  tell 
you  he  is  nothing — nothing  !  Ah  !  I  don't  even  hate 
him.  If  I  should  ever  speak  to  him  again  it  would  be 
to  send  him  back  to  you." 

Phyllis  said  nothing,  and  just  then  her  father  came 
into  the  room,  and  after  a  few  minutes'  conventional 
chat  Ella  went  away. 

Mr.  Ayrton  remarked  to  Phyllis  that  her  dearest 
friend  was  looking  better  than  she  had  looked  for  many 
months,  and  then  he  laughed.  Phyllis  did  not  like  his 
laugh.  She  looked  at  him — gravely — reproachfully. 

"  Pardon  me,  my  dear,"  said  he  ;  "  but  I  was  only 
thinking  that — well — that  she —  Ah,  after  all,  what 
is  marriage  ?  " 

Phyllis  did  not  reply.  She  saw  by  his  eyes  that 
he  had  found  another  phrase.  What  were  phrases  to 
her? 


340  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA. 

"  Marriage  is  the  most  honorable  preliminary  to  an 
effective  widowhood,"  said  he. 
She  went  out  of  the  room. 

During  the  next  eight  months  Phyllis  received  many 
letters  from  Ella — some  from  Switzerland,  some  from 
Italy,  and  one  from  Calcutta.  Ella  had  gone  to  India 
to  make  further  inquiries  on  the  subject  of  Buddhism. 
At  any  rate,  no  one  whose  heart  was  set  upon  build- 
ing up  a  New  Church  could  afford,  she  said,  to  ignore 
Buddhism  as  a  power. 

Mr.  Holland  agreed  with  her,  she  said.  He  had 
gone  through  India  with  her. 

She  returned  to  England  in  April,  and  of  course 
went  to  see  Phyllis  without  delay.  Some  men  had 
wanted  to  marry  Phyllis  during  the  winter,  as  every- 
body knew,  but  she  had  been  pleasantly  irreponsive. 
Some  of  her  closest  friends  (female)  laughed  and  said 
that  she  had  found  out  how  silly  she  had  been  in 
throwing  over  Mr.  Holland. 

It  was  not,  however,  of  these  suitors  that  Ella  talked 
to  her.  It  was  of  Herbert  Courtland. 

Had  she  h,eard  from  him  ?  she  asked. 

Yes;  he  occasionally  sent  her  his  address,  Phyllis 
said — that  was  all. 

"You  will  write  to  him  to  come  back  to  you, 
Phyllis  ?  "  said  Ella  entreatingly. 

Phyllis  shook  her  head. 

"  Dearest  child,"  continued  Ella,  "  I  know  the  good- 
ness of  your  heart.  I  know  the  high  ideal  of  honor 
and  faith  which  you  have  set  before  you.  I  saw  Her- 


PHYLLIS  OF  PH1LISTIA.  341 

bert  when  our  steamer  stopped  at  Port  Said.  He  had 
been  in  Abyssinia — you  know  that  ?  " 

"  I  knew  that." 

"  I  talked  with  him  for  an  hour,"  said  Ella.  "  He 
told  me  a  good  deal  about  you — about  your  parting 
from  him.  You  will  write  those  words  to  him  before 
I  leave  this  room." 

Phyllis  shook  her  head. 

"  Oh,  yes,  you  will,  when  I  tell  you  what  I  did  not 
tell  him — when  I  tell  you  that  George  Holland  and  I 
have  agreed  that  our  positions  as  joint  trustees  of  the 
New  Church  will  be  immeasurably  strengthened  if  we 
are  married." 

"What?" 

Phyllis  had  risen. 

"  We  are  to  be  married  in  three  months.  The 
matter  is,  of  course,  to  remain  a  secret — people  are  so 
given  to  talk." 

Phyllis  fell  into  her  arms  and  kissed  her  tearfully — 
but  the  tears  were  not  all  her  own. 

"  Now  you  will  write  those  words,"  said  Ella. 

Phyllis  ran  to  a  little  French  escritoire  and  snatched 
up  a  sheet  of  paper. 

"  Come  to  me,  my  beloved,"  she  wrote  upon  it ;  then 
she  leaned  her  face  upon  her  arm,  weeping  happily. 

Ella  came  behind  her.  She  picked  up  the  paper 
and  folded  it  up.  She  pressed  the  bell. 

"Please  give  that  to  Mr.  Courtland  in  the  study," 
she  said  to  the  servant. 

Phyllis  sprang  up  with  a  cry. 

"  I   forgot  to  tell  you,  my  dearest,  that  I  brought 


342  PHYLLIS  OF  PHILISTIA, 

back  Herbert  Courtland  in  that  steamer  with  me,  and 
that  he  came  with  me  to-day.  He  is  coming  to  you — 
listen — three  steps  at  a  time." 

And  that  was  just  how  he  did  come  to  her. 

"  Bless  my  soul ! "  cried    Mr.  Ayrton,  ten   minutes 
later.     "  Bless   my  soul !     I   always  fancied   that — 
Ah,  after  all,  what  is  marriage  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  "  cried  Phyllis. 

"  The  last  word  that  can  be  said  regarding  it  is  that 
marriage  is  the  picturesque  gateway  leading  to  a  com- 
monplace estate." 

"  Oh ! "  cried  Phyllis. 


THE  END. 


SHOULD  SHE  HAVE  LEFT  HIM  ? 

BY 

WILLIAM   C.   HUDSON 

(BARCLAY  NORTH), 

Author  of  "  The  Diamond  Button  :  Whose  Was  It  ?  "  "Jack  Gordon, 
Knight  Errant,  Gotham,  1883"  "Vivier,  of  Vivier,  Long- 
man &  Co."  "  The  Man  with  a  Thumb"  "On 
the  Rack"  "  The  Dugdale  Millions" 


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plot.  It  is  a  story  of  the  brightest  interest  throughout." 

— Boston  Home  Journal. 

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put  in  print.  Mr.  Hudson  has  written  a  very  clever  story  which 
holds  the  attention  from  beginning  to  end." — Minneapolis  Journal. 

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familiar  way.  The  story  is  fully  equal  to  the  writer's  former  efforts 
in  interest." — St.  Louis  Mirror. 


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"THE  BOOK  OF  THE  YEAR." 

A  PASTORAL  PLAYED  OUT. 

By  MARY   L.  RENDERED, 

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knowledge,  is  it  told  with  more  of  grace  and  less  of  ill-nature  and 
ribaldry.  The  author  draws  with  a  free  hand,  and  fills  in  her 
picture  right  skillfully.  Delicate  though  the  subject  is,  it  is  handled 
without  coarseness  on  the  one  hand  or  squeamishness  on  the  other." 
— Cedar  Rapids  Gazette. 

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It  is  full  of  interest,  and  has  the  readable  quality  that  marks  the  work 
of  a  trained  hand.  But  as  for  the  story,  its  morals  are  all  exactly 
what  they  should  not  be.  In  fact,  the  sentiment  on  the  title-page 
declares  that  it  is  well  not  to  be  too  moral.  .  .  Certainly  Miss 
Pendered  has  not  written  a  book  that  is  too  moral.  And  in  telling 
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THE  STORY  OF  FRANCIS  CLUDDE. 


STANLEY  J.  WEYMAN, 

Author  of '"  A  Gentleman  of  France"  "  The  Man  in 
Black"  etc. 


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throughout.  The  hero  is  all  a  hero  should  be,  brave,  generous, 
successful.  .  .  It  is  a  capital  book  for  boys,  girls,  and  grown-up 
people." — The  Guardian. 

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little  ;  there  is  none  that  is  not  overrunning  with  dramatic  incident, 
and  this  without  a  moment's  monotony.  Moreover,  the  style  has  the 
exceedingly  unusual  merit  of  being  entirely  free  from  the  taint  of 
affected  archaism,  and  yet  of  being  in  harmony  with  its  period.  The 
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and  young." — The  Graphic. 

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very  high  order." — The  Bradford  Observer. 

"  There  is  not  a  dull  page  from  beginning  to  end." — The  Western 
Daily  Mercury. 

"'The  Story  of  Francis  Cludde '  is  an  admirable  piece  of  work. 
As  an  essay  in  what  was  thought  to  be  the  lost  art  of  historical 
romance,  it  must  take  very  high  rank  among  the  best.  .  .  The 
story  is  laid  in  the  last  years  of  Queen  Mary's  reign,  and  the  d/noue- 
ment  is  brought  about  with  great  skill  and  without  any  straining. 
Everyone  is  recorrr.»ended  <o  read  '  The  Story  of  Francis  Cludde ' 
as  a  capital  book  in  an  old  style,  which  is  better  than  the  new."-1 
The  Melbourne  Argus. 


THE  CASSELL  PUBLISHING  CO., 

31  East  17th  St.  (Union  Square),  New  York, 
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A  SUPERFLUOUS  WOMAN. 

i2mo,  Extra  Cloth,  Price  $x.oo. 
Paper,  Cassell's  Sunshine  Series,  Price  50  Cents. 

"  The  book  is  a  remarkable  one,  and  unless  we  are  much  mistaken, 
will  be  one  of  the  literary  sensations  of  the  year." — Detroit  Commer- 
cial Advertiser. 

"  Is  one  of  the  many  novels  written  to-day  against  the  false  and 
cramped  position  of  woman.  The  fact  of  a  difference  in  the  stand- 
ard of  morals  for  men  and  women  is  moving  many  of  our  thinking 
people,  and  we  are  beginning  to  see  that  our  system  is  wrong.  It  is 
the  system  more  than  the  individual,  and  the  reform  of  the  system 
undoubtedly  rests  with  the  women.  The  author  of  this  work — 
whether  man  cr  woman  does  not  appear — deplores  the  state  of  things 
which  educates  a  girl  for  no  purpose,  which  teaches  her  that  accom- 
plishments are  her  stock-in-trade  to  gain  a  husband,  which  programme, 
if  carried  out,  leaves  her  without  an  object  in  life,  and  reduces  her 
to  a  restless,  morbid  creature,  bored  to  death  with  everything,  yet 
constantly  seeking  some  new  excitement." — Detroit  Free  Press. 

"The  story  has  genuine  and  undeniable  power." — Boston  Daily 
Traveller. 

"  Ah,  it  is  pitiful,  is  this  education  of  the  superfluous — how  pitiful 
you  may  know  by  looking  steadily  into  this  picture  drawn  by  some 
strong,  but  unknown  hand." — Pittsburg  Times. 

"...  It  is  one  of  those  lessons  which  need  to  be  taught,  of  which 
the  world  is  becoming  more  receptive,  and  which  are  so  distressing  to 
the  mind  and  heart  of  the  tender  that  too  often  they  are  put  aside, 
ignored,  denied,  until  some  immediate  event  brings  them  to  notice 
with  double  shock  to  the  sensitive.  And  what  is  this  lesson  ?  The 
lesson  of  heredity — the  lesson  that  the  sins  of  the  parents  are  vis- 
ited upon  the  heads  of  the  children,  even  unto  the  third  and  fourth 
generation,  an  inexorable  law  here  held  up  in  its  extremest  enforce- 
ment. The  book  is  but  one  consecutive  story,  measured  by  the  rules  of 
fiction.  There  are  no  side-issues,  but  the  author  strikes  boldly  at  the 
evils  found,  concentrating  all  her  efforts  on  the  one  thought  to  show 
the  hideous  after-effects  of  vice  and  the  crime  of  an  otherwise  inno- 
cent person  who  shares  the  responsibility  of  those  results.  .  .  We 
may  be  grateful  that  there  is  a  brave  woman  to  write  these  things  for 
us  to  read.  There  is  much  need  of  them  in  the  world." — Chicago 
Times. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  novels  of  the  year." — Boston 
Daily  Advertiser.  

NEW  YORK 

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31  EAST  I;TH  ST.  (UNION  SQUARE) 

106 


THE   EMIGRANT  SHIP. 


By  W.  CLARK  RUSSELL, 

Author  of '"List,  ye  Landsmen  !  "  "  714*  Romance  of  a  Transport" 
"The  Wreck  of  the  Grosvenor,"  etc.,  etc. 

One  Volume,  12mo,  Cloth,  Sl.OO.     Paper,  5O  Cents. 


**  The  story  is  told  with  excellent  directness,  and  the  atmosphere  of  life  aboard 
an  emigrant  ship  is  admirably  conveyed  to  the  reader.  There  is  no  sea  technicality 
to  speak  of,  the  whole  interest  of  the  story  being  concentrated  in  the  hero's  plan 
to  develop  a  crew  among  his  women  passengers.  On  the  whole,  '  The  Emigrant 
Ship'  is  one  of  the  most  readable  of  Mr.  Russell's  charming  tales." — New  York 
Times. 

"  For  a  very  fine  tonic  in  the  way  of  fiction  commend  us  always  to  Mr.  Clark 
Russell.  The  sea  never  fails  to  lash  itself  in  a  most  beautiful  manner  when  he  is 
about.  He  has,  perhaps,  as  vigorous  a  vocabulary  as  anybody  now  going.  Hi. 
can  talk  in  strong  and  splendid  phrase  too  of  more  things  than  the  sea."—  New 
York  Sun. 

"  On  the  whole,  the  best  which  Mr.  Russell  has  produced.  It  is  beautifully 
bound  and  makes  a  marine  library  without  it  seem  poverty-stricken." — Boston 
Daily  Traveller. 

"  Is  readable  from  beginning  to  end.  No  better  sea  story  has  been  written." — 
Philadelphia  Bulletin. 

•  "  The  keen  salt  breath  of  the  sea  flows  through  all  his  descriptions,  and  he 
makes  his  readers  feel  its  inspiration  as  he  feels  it  himself.  No  one  knows  better 
the  methods  of  ocean  life,  and  no  one  handles  its  fascination  more  subtly  or  skill- 
fully, while  for  the  reader  who  loves  a  story  for  the  story's  sake  this  tale  is  worth 
half  a  dozen  of  modern  '  society  '  novels." — New  York  Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  Will  appeal  to  all  such  as  love  the  sea  and  the  free  and  breezy  stories  of  it 
which  are  characteristic  of  this  keen  student  and  ardent  lover  of  its  moods  and 
vagaries." — New  York  Mail  and  Express. 

"  There  is  a  genuine  sea  flavor  to  Clark  Russell's  stories,  a  salty  taste,  a  smell  of 
ropes  and  rigging,  and  the  bracing  freshness  of  the  ocean  air.  There  is  also  the 
freedom  of  the  broad  seas,  but  with  all  this  there  is  neither  the  vulgarity  nor  the 
deyilishness  which  so  many  nautical  writers  seem  to  think  it  necessary  to  affect. 
His  sea  tales  are  original  to  a  striking  degree,  they  are  never  dull,  and  withal  they 
are  clean  and  wholesome.  They  make  good  reading  for  old  boys  as  well  as 
young." — Baltimore  Telegram. 

"  It  is  bright,  interesting,  strong.  .  .  There  is  more  of  human  nature  in  it  thai 
in  any  of  his  previous  books." — New  York  World. 

"  Where  is  the  boy,  old  or  jroung,  with  a  heart  in  him  who  doesn't  know  how 
incomparably  well  he  writes  his  amazing  adventures  on  the  high  seas  ?  Here  we 
have  a  story  which  could  only  by  any  possible  chance  proceed  from  the  pen  of 
Mr.  Russell."— Philadelphia  Press. 


plot 
Daily  Advertiser. 


THE  CASSELL  PUBLISHING  CO, 

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"  A   DANGEROUS  AND  DIFFICULT  SUBJECT  FOR  A  NOVEL." 

—  The  A  ntcrican  Woman's  Illustrated  World. 


THE  HEAVENLY  TWINS, 

By  SARAH  GRAND. 

In  one  large  12010  volume  of  nearly  700  pages.    Extra  cloth, 

laid  paper     Price  $1.00. 
Paper,  Cassell's  Sunshine  Series,  Price  50  Cents. 

"  There  is  much  powerful  and  beautiful  writing  in  this  remarkable 
and  not-to-be-forgotten  book." — The  World. 

"  The  adventures  of  Diavolo  and  Angelica — the  *  Heavenly  Twins' 
— are  delightfully  funny.  No  more  original  children  were  ever  put 
in  a  book." — The  Academy. 

"  The  moral  which  the  author  undertakes  to  enforce  is  that  tha 
sacrifice  of  pure  women  in  marriage  to  men  of  vicious  lives  is  not 
only  a  crime  against  the  individual,  but  against  society  itself."— 
Boston  Beacon. 

"  The  work  swarms  with  wise  sayings  and  noble  counsels."— 
Methodist  7'itnes. 

"  This  book  is  one  full  of  talent,  and  not  of  talent  misapplied,  for 
'  The  Heavenly  Twins '  is  strong  enough  to  assert  itself  and  to  point 
a  moral." — IV.  Y.  Times. 

"  Whether  or  not  a  pure  woman  marrying  has  a  right  to  equal 
purity  in  the  man  she  marries — this  is  the  problem  attempted  by 
Sarah  Grand  in  her  heroine's  behalf  in  '  The  Heavenly  Twins.'  It 
is  an  earnest  book,  showing  its  author's  cultured  mind  on  every 
page." — Table  Talk. 

"  A  very  curious  and  interesting  novel.  .  .  The  burden  of  the 
author's  song  is  the  emancipation  of  woman  and  the  establishment 
of  a  stricter  moral  standard  for  man.  From  one  end  to  the  other 
it  is  interesting,  in  spots  intensely  and  absorbingly  so." — KaU  Field's 
Washington. 

THE  CASSELL  PUBLISHING  CO., 

31  EAST  i;th  ST.  (UNION  SQUARE),  NEW  YORK. 
103 


